Silent Anvil With Much More to Say: Hank McEwan, Horseshoer, Horseman, Friend

You probably thought you'd be reading the Hoof Blog's tribute to Hank McEwan by now. Words don't come easily, but Wednesday should be the day.

The Annual Report: Wrapping up 2014 with a big blog bow

Happy New Year!

Last week, you read about the Hoof Blog's favorite stories based on numbers. Now, we’ll dissect the blog for you to highlight some stories you might like to bookmark or share, or maybe read for the first time, if you missed them.

Think of this as an index for future reference. You can refer back to it to find stories. Interspersed are some favorite images from the year, which may or may not relate to the text. At the end are some beyond-the-Hoof Blog media files that you can bookmark, download and (hopefully) share.

Last Tango in Calgary: Stampede Will Host Its Final World Championship in 2014

Reigning World Champion David Varini (right) during a television interview minutes after finding out he had won as he stood on the Calgary Stampede's rodeo stage in front of 20,000 people. Speech bubbles represent what they might have been talking about if the interview had been this week.

Will the last farrier competitor to leave Calgary please make sure the coal fires are out?

Digital "Post Card from Calgary" Takes You to World Championship for Farriers at the Calgary Stampede

The newly released digital "Post Card from Calgary" is mirrored here; you can preview the pages here; if you click anywhere on it, you will go to the video-capable website where you can read the full-size edition with enlargeable text, watch seven videos, share links to Twitter and Facebook and spectacular photos of the farriers competing for the title of World Champion at the 2013 Calgary Stampede in Canada. The magazine videos are by Sandra Mesrine; photos by Sandra Mesrine and Marguerite Paige; it was written and designed by Fran Jurga.