Calgary Stampede: Farriers at the World Champion Blacksmiths Competition

They call it the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. There's no event quite like Canada's Calgary Stampede, held each July in Calgary, Alberta. It's the world's biggest rodeo melded into the world's biggest country fair and a world cultural fair, to boot. You can learn a lot, or just have fun. It has to be one of the world's largest volunteer-run events of any kind. The World Championship Blacksmiths Competition for farriers has been held at the Stampede for more than 30 years.

NOTE: On Sunday, July 10, the farrier competition will be livestreamed on The Hoof Blog. Watch the WCBC farrier events live on video. (Sorry about the ads, the stream providers just do that.)

Video clip assembled yesterday, shot during the two-man farrier competition.

Open-hearth coal fires blaze at Canada's Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta.

The World Championship Blacksmiths Competition (WCBC) has attracted individual farriers and some national teams from England, Denmark, New Zealand, Scotland, Australia, Ireland, Norway, France, Wales, Belgium, Northern Ireland, South Africa, the United States, and Canada.

Competing for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, the winning farrier receives a $10,000 check, a limited-edition bronze trophy, a Stampede hand-tooled buckle, and a champion’s jacket.

Steven Beane of England entered this year’s competition seeking his third straight Stampede title. Last July, Beane, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, became the WCBC’s first back-to-back champion since Billy Crothers of Wales notched his second and third Calgary crowns in 1995 and 1996.

This year, WCBC organizers are also placing special emphasis on the four-man team championship, with the winning squad splitting a $10,000 pot. The competition’s forging and shoeing champs will each earn $1,000, as will the top rookie. The farrier competition begins before the Stampede does, with an educational clinic for the farriers.



Here's a quick video introduction to the agricultural side of the Stampede, including scenes from the farrier competition. Notice the spectator children touching the baby pigs and kissing a horse on the nose. Calgary still allows old-fashioned, unsanitary behavior like that. Long may they!

The Stampede has a terrific heavy horse show in addition to the rodeo.

People from all over the world flock to Calgary each year to see the rodeo, but there's a  lot more to see at the Stampede.

If I ever saw an event that would have me strapping on a helmet and a body protector, the chuckwagon races would be it. I always thought it should be called the suicide runaway races. The Stampede beefed up its equine welfare program this year by implanting microchips in the horses to keep track of how often they race. Each horse is only allowed to race four days in a row, one race a day. Sadly, one horse has broken a leg and had to be destroyed. Two people have been killed in the races in the past 25 years.



The assembly of Native American nations at the Stampede makes it a world cultural event like no other.

I think the thing I like best about Calgary is that everyone in the city seems to be involved and they act like they are having a good time, even if they only wear a cowboy hat once a year! It's one of the best cultural mashups on the planet, as this string section illustrates.

The celebrity factor went a little off the charts this year when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge decided to stop by. The farriers were disappointed that they didn't come by the competition.

Stampede Photos by Mike Ringwood and Chris Bolin.

 © Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.  

 

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Olds College Fills First Two-Year Farrier Degree Program

New students in the classroom at Olds College in Alberta, Canada last week. They'll be together for two years in the new program.

They said it couldn't be done. They said farrier students demanded short courses. They said that farrier schools should emulate the barefoot trimming training programs that compete with them with home schooling and weekend or weeklong on-site formal programs peppered through the program. They said students these days don't want to work as hard as you have to to become a good farrier.

They said Olds College would never fill the new two-year degree program for professional farrier training when they announced it last year. Not in this economy.

But they did. Students sat down at their desks for the first day of classes in a filled-to-capacity program at the Alberta, Canada campus last month.

A horseshoe is one big learning curve for a student farrier. Photos by Thowra_UK via Flickr. Thanks!

“Olds College was already commended by the equine industry for its one-year program, considered the best in the industry,” said Jeff Suderman, Director of Student Recruitment. “We are encouraged to see that the move to a more comprehensive program has been well received.”

The previous program at Olds was one year in length. But Olds holds the belief that horses today represent a significantly greater investment for owners and that society calls for a heightened awareness of animal welfare and how it is achieved. According to the program's new rationale, by doubling the Farrier Science Program’s length, Olds College will ensure that students graduate with increased knowledge of equine anatomy, horse handling and horse husbandry as well as sufficient proficiency in welding, basic blacksmithing and advanced corrective and therapeutic horseshoeing.

In keeping with the college’s emphasis on real-life, hands-on learning, the farrier program now requires completion of a total of eight months of what they call "Directed Field Study", split into five-month and three-month sections, respectively.

“One thing that attracted me to Olds College was the fact that it offers more than just six-week training programs. The two-year diploma stretches out learning to ensure we understand and develop the skills we need,” said Tyler Johnson, a first-year student in the new program.

Traditionally, the number of applicants for the Olds College program has exceeded its capacity, which caps at 16 students. Existing familiarity and aptitude with the farrier profession and horse and tool handling are just some of the areas of competency students need to demonstrate before they can even be considered for acceptance into the program.

“Olds College already graduates some of the best farriers in North America but today’s industry needs them to be even better,” says Dean Sinclair, Olds College Farrier Science Coordinator.

Olds College discontinued its shorter programs. Only the two-year program is offered, showing what a commitment the college is making to in-depth training of its students.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing; Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.
 

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Canadian College Expands Farrier Program to Two-Years

18 February 2010 | Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com


The following is a press release from the farrier program at Olds College in Alberta, Canada:

Responding to industry demand, Olds College will be changing its already acclaimed one-year Farrier program to a two-year program in October of 2010.

The college’s new Farrier Science diploma will see students emerging with increased knowledge of equine anatomy, horse handling and horse husbandry. As well, emphasis will be increased on welding, basic blacksmithing and advanced corrective and therapeutic horseshoeing. In keeping with the college’s emphasis on real-life, hands-on learning, program completion will now require a total of 8 months of Directed Field Study, split into five-month and three-month sections respectively.

Mark Hobby, President of the Western Canadian Farriers Association, believes that new farriers today need more training than can currently be found on the continent. “Olds College is to be commended for its current one-year program. It is the best in North America by far,” says Hobby. “It is still not long enough, however. The proposed two year program is essential if we are going to be fair to equines, owners and students.” Hobby adds that Europe, generally considered to hold farriers to a higher standard, requires four years of training for farriers and requires them to be licensed by law.

Traditionally, the number of applicants for the Olds College program has exceeded its capacity, which caps at 16 students. Existing familiarity with the farrier profession and horse and tool handling are just some of the areas of competency students will need to demonstrate prior to acceptance into the program.

“Olds College already graduates some of the best farriers in North America but today’s industry needs them to be even better,” says Dean Sinclair, Olds College Farrier Science Coordinator. “Horses now represent a significant financial investment for most owners and there is also a heightened awareness of animal welfare and how it is achieved. This program will set a new standard and we are quite proud of it.”

Sinclair’s sentiments are echoed by the American Farrier’s Association (AFA). “All too often, farriers don’t survive their initial entrance into our profession because they arrive ill-prepared for success,” says AFA President Richard Fanguy. “By providing students with ample opportunity for both classroom instruction and practical experience, Olds College is helping to provide stability and professionalism within our industry.”

(end of press release)

Editor's note: Mark Hobby was probably misquoted in this press release. He may have been referring to the mandatory four-year farrier training program in Great Britain, which ends in an examination, rather than all of Europe. In other countries in Europe, the qualifications and education for farriers vary widely from formal to informal to non-existent although efforts by the EFFA hope to make standardized farrier training a reality across Europe in the future. Note that trimming and soft-shoeing (boots and non-steel shoes) do not require training or registration in most countries, but farriery (defined by the application of steel shoes) often is a regulated trade with a lengthy mandatory apprenticeship.

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. Please, no use without permission. You only need to ask. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online at the blog page, checked via RSS feed, or received via a digest-type email (requires signup in box at top right of blog page). To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness (the journal), please visit the main site, www.hoofcare.com, where many educational products and media related to equine lameness and hoof science can be found. Questions or problems with this blog? Send email to blog@hoofcare.com.