story by Ruth Nicolaus
Corey Larsen knows what it means to “make hay while the sun shines.” Literally.
The eighteen year old cowboy lives 25 miles northeast of Arthur, Neb., on a cattle ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, and one of the big jobs on a ranch in hay country is putting up lots of prairie grass hay in the summer.
Larsen, a member of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association, worked alongside his two older brothers, his header, Josh Powers, and his dad as they put up 3,000 big round bales, each weighing 1,250 lbs.
Corey started in the hayfield on the rake, and graduated this past summer to the tractor and the baler. The tractor running the baler has air conditioning, which is a good thing for him, as he has allergies. But he doesn’t mind running the rake, as there is less to think about. “You don’t have to slow down or stop” to unload a bale, he said, and the rake never jams up like the baler does.
But hay season is over, and now his days are spent in the classrooms at Arthur Co. High School. He is a senior in school, where he plays football and basketball, was president of the student council last year, and is involved in one-act plays, speech, quiz bowl, and FFA. He also shows beef cattle in 4-H.
Corey competes in high school rodeo in the team roping, (heeling for Josh), in the tie-down roping, and hopes to add steer wrestling to his repertoire. Heeling is his strong suit, he says, but he likes tie-down roping the best. He is thankful for the good bulldogging help he gets from his neighbor Jason Ohm.
After high school, he will attend college, but at this point, he’s not sure where. And he’s leaving his future job opportunities open. He might choose to be a lawyer, or a veterinarian, or come home and help on the family ranch.
Corey’s two older brothers, Cody and Jesse, live close by. Cody lives close to his dad’s mom, Grandma Joan Larsen, while Jesse and his wife Thea live about 5 miles away. By the time this article goes to print, Corey will be an uncle; Jesse and Thea will add another boy to the Larsen family tree in mid-August.
Corey gets paid for his time in the hayfield, and he saves his money for entry fees and other necessities. His shopping weakness, however, is bits, especially those made by Gordy Alderson. He has about fifteen bits, total.
And it’s not all work, all summer for Corey and his brothers. Each weekend, they take off to team rope, mostly at World Series Team Ropings. Jesse is a header and Cody and Corey are both heelers. Corey can’t enter the World Series events yet, as he isn’t 21 years old. But he ropes in a lot of the side jackpots that take place.
He is the son of Marty and Anna Larsen. He has competed at state high school finals the past two years.
