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?

Official National Results from Stoneleigh Team Competition: England Wins; USA 4th

Repeat winners Team England at the award ceremony of the 34th International Team Farrier Competition in Stoneleigh, England, hosted by the British Farrier and Blacksmith Association. Left to right: Matt Randles, Ben Taylor, Ben Casserly, presenter, Steven Beane, and Nigel Fennell.

International Team Farriery Championships 2013
1st Place - England
2nd Place - Scotland
3rd Place - Ireland
4th Place - USA
5th Place - Wales
6th Place - Canada
7th Place - France
8th Place - Belgium
9th Place - Holland
10th Place - Norway
11th Place - Switzerland
12th Place - Catalonia
13th Place - British Army
14th Place - Sweden

England's victory was by the slim margin of 1.5 points.

Stephen Beane of England was the individual champion; 2013 world champion David Varini of Scotland was second. The pair finished 1-2 in the standings for specimen shoes, as well.

International Apprentice Team Championship 2013
1st Place - England
2nd Place - Scotland
3rd Place - Wales
4th Place - Switzerland
5th Place - France

The American Farriers Team, consisting of Lamar Weaver, Josh Stanley, Mark Schneider and Chris Gregory, finished in fourth place, 6.8 points ahead of Wales. Lamar Weaver finished 9th overall in the individual standings and was third in the best shod foot standings.

Canada's Dan Corkery won a class for team reserves.

According to the unofficial records kept by Hoofcare Publishing, the very respectable fourth-place finish by the American team is cause for celebration. The USA also finished fourth in 2007.

For the extensive and downloadable full results, please visit The Forge Magazine website and click on individual categories of awards or classes for full results.

Results and photo kindly shared by Forge Magazine: Thank you!

Heavy Hooves: Farrier Work Transformed with Tony Golding's Artistic Vision

No words are needed for this video, and none were supplied. This is the work of one of my favorite British photographers, Tony Golding, who normally is photographing British heavy horses in all their glory.

But this time he turned to the bottom of those same horses' feet and zoomed in on the hands of the farriers at a shoeing contest at one of the big shows in England. He got very close and followed a couple of the contestants through to nailing on.

It's nine minutes of sweet jazz riffs and very tight closeups, artistic transitions, fades and dissolves.

Click on the little "HD" icon at the bottom to initiate High Definition mode if your monitor will allow it. Then go to "full screen" mode by clicking of the four-arrowed box next to "HD". Sit back and enjoy it.

And if you do, click on the little "like" heart at the top right of the screen and let Tony know.

Watch more Tony Golding video slide shows of heavy horses.

Need a copy? If you want to understand lame horses, you do. Call 978 281 3222 to order.

© 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.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Read this blog's headlines on the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

New Shoes: Calgary Stampede 2012 Farrier Slide Show

Love farrier competitions? Then enjoy these photos from the first day at the Calgary Stampede farrier events by Vicki Kaiser. These were the last photos she took before her backpack was stolen with her laptop, wallet, car keys and everything she needed for her trip.

Click on the full-screen button at the bottom right for a better view.

You'd probably enjoy Vicki's blog: Read about her tragic and costly trip to the Stampede, and her ability to look on the bright side of her unfortunate experience there.

Many thanks to Vicki, who is newly married to farrier Dillon Kaiser and lives in British Colombia. I'm hoping we can work together again soon--under less dramatic circumstances.

Click here to go to information page to order yours

© 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.  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Read this blog's headlines on the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Calgary Stampede World Championship Blacksmiths: View the Live Video Feed on the Hoof Blog

(videostream disabled because event is over)

There is some sort of a scoring problem and, as of Saturday night, the top ten for the live shoeing had not been announced. The competitors don't even know how they're doing!
England's Steven Beane, World Champion of 2009 and 2010 was off to a good start, winning two of the first three classes and finishing second in the other, before the scoring problem came up. The team results are not known.

Sunday update: The Stampede has not supplied any official information about this event.

  

Follow Hoofcare + Lameness on Twitter: @HoofcareJournal

Read this blog's headlines when you "like" the Hoofcare + Lameness Facebook Page

 

Tweet

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Is California Farrier Doug Roberts the Hardest Working Person in America?

Doug Roberts is a hard-working guy. He's been shoeing horses for 37 years, and he has no plans to quit. Ever.

But when the Livermore, California farrier heard about a contest to find the hardest working person in America, he figured there couldn't be many people who worked harder than he does. And the judges agreed, because today they announced that Doug is a finalist, one of ten people chosen as the hardest working people in America.

Mitchum, which manufactures what it calls the hardest working antiperspirant/deodorant, launched the promotional campaign in May 2010.

"Mitchum challenged regular people to create reality films telling their true stories of hard work, and the public responded in a strong way," said Alan T. Ennis, CEO of Revlon, Mitchum's parent company. "Mitchum is a brand that prides itself on working hard and these finalists have proven they do just that. Not only are they finalists, they are true Mitchum brand ambassadors. Through this contest, Mitchum and the public have the power to make a difference in someone's life."

Besides Doug Roberts, the finalists selected include a man who is cleaning up the nation's rivers; a U.S. Air Force Fighter pilot; an 88-year-old working mom; an elementary school custodial worker; the founder of First Response Team of America; a man helping young campers build character, respect and leadership;  an actor, trash-hauler, artist, silkscreener and landscaper; a construction worker and dad who moonlights as a college student; and an Army drill sergeant.

Beginning today, the public can log on to www.mitchumhardestworking.com and vote for the “Hardest Working Person in America”--as long as you promise to vote for Doug! The grand prize winner of the contest will receive a $100,000 cash prize and be the subject of a short film by legendary documentarian Albert Maysles and co-filmmaker Bradley Kaplan with a first-place winner also receiving a $20,000 cash prize. In addition, Mitchum will also present an “Audience Award” winner with a $5,000 prize and a “golden” Mitchum trophy for the video which received the most votes in the first round of the contest. Voting will close on August 15, 2010 and all three winners will be announced between August 16-23, 2010.

For contest rules or to view the hardest working films, television spots and finalist videos visit mitchumhardestworking.com, www.facebook.com/mitchum, or follow the campaign on Twitter at @MitchumTM (twitter.com/mitchumtm. Just be sure to vote for Doug as often as they'll let you!

© 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.

England's Steven Beane Repeats as Calgary World Champion

The Calgary Stampede put together this little video about the farrier competition.

"Beane" there, done that--Two years in a row!

Steven Beane of England, shown early in this video, was named the 2010 World Champion Blacksmith at the Calgary Stampede today.  That makes it two in a row for the Yorkshire farrier, who was also champion in 2009 and is currently reserve European champion for 2010.

According to the Calgary Stampede, Beane was virtually unbeatable when it counted Sunday, dominating the semifinal and final rounds under the Big Top to win his second consecutive World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition title at the Calgary Stampede.

Beane, who hails from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, is the first backto-back WCBC champion since Billy Crothers of Wales won the second and third of his five Stampede crowns back in 1995 and 1996.

“It’s unbelievably hard to do that. Really, really hard,” said Beane, 31. “You’ve got so many good guys competing here . . . you’ve got to be on the top of your game, and I’m lucky I was on top of my game today.

“I’ve had a bad year up until now, to be honest,” added Beane, who said he competes at between 15 and 20 farrier competitions during a year. “I went to the European championships, where I’d won two years in a row, and I was second there. That was kind of hard to take. But I must admit that for the last couple of months, I’ve been focused on coming back here.”

During the 10-man semifinal, Beane opened up a 21-point lead on Jake Engler of Magnolia, Texas, and in the final, he increased that advantage, prevailing by 32 points over Engler in the end.

Beane finished with 147 points to Engler’s 115. As for the other finalists, Scotland’s Derek Gardner was
third with 115 (Engler won a tiebreaker on the fit of a horse’s shoe); fellow Scot David Varini was fourth with 94, and Texan Gene Lieser ended up fifth with 87.

Beane wins a cheque for $10,000, as well as a gold-and-silver Stampede championship buckle, a limited  edition bronze trophy, and a champion’s jacket. More than $50,000 in cash and prizes were handed out to WCBC competitors this weekend.

“It was pretty rough going for me today. Nothing was clicking,” said Engler. “Beane is always on the money, and he’s hard to beat. But I’m pretty happy with (second place). It can’t be too bad, since there’s  only one guy better than me.”

Congratulations to all the farriers who made the trip to Calgary and represented their countries.

Information and quotes provided by the Calgary Stampede were used in this report. Photo and video courtesy of the Calgary Stampede.

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com
© 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.

Calgary Stampede Top Ten Announced

C A L G A R Y  2 0 1 0

Fifty-six competitors representing 12 countries have been pounding it out at Calgary, Alberta in Canada for the Calgary Stampede’s 31^st annual World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition (WCBC). Three former Stampede champions, including 2009 World Champion Stephen Beane of England, are competing this year.

At stake are $50,000 in cash and prizes, with the winner receiving a $10,000 check, a limited edition bronze trophy, a Stampede handcrafted buckle, and a champion’s jacket. But anyone will tell you that it's more about the title than the prizes.

Saturday night, after accumulating points in eight different forging and shoeing classes over three days, the top 10 competitors were announced for Sunday's semifinal under the Big Top. Squaring off will be Beane, Canada's Colain Duret, Scotland’s Ian Gajczak, Derek Gardner, and David Varini, and three Americans: Jake Engler, Gene Lieser, Chris Madrid, Tim McPhee, and Jim Quick.

The top five from the 10-man semifinal will return immediately for the WCBC’s final round. A World Champion should be announced later Sunday afternoon.

England’s Darren Bazin has won Calgary three times and been second once. “Being a world champion, you get to shoe better horses, and you work with better clientele,” Bazin, 39, of Kettering, Northamptonshire, told Stampede interviewers. Beane also competes in other world-class blacksmithing competitions such as the Royal Show, the International, and the European championships. “There’s a lot of good younger guys competing now, but I rely on experience, really, and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into a competition like this. You can’t just show up and compete--not at this level.”

“Last year, we brought attention to the (WCBC’s) 30^th anniversary, and it was an opportunity for past world champions who hadn’t been here for a while to congregate for a special event,” says Blaine Virostek, chairman of the Stampede’s Blacksmiths committee. “But we do continue to see new, younger guys starting to compete at this level, so the talent pool has definitely been growing over the past six to eight years. That shows us we’re going in the right direction.”

Virostek also says this year’s 31st annual competition marks the beginning of a subtle change in proceedings, with a move toward a team concept.
“This year, for example, we’re introducing a two-man shoeing competition,” he says. “When you get back into the industry, farriers do work in teams. There’s a master-apprentice kind of relationship. It’s a real-world application.”

Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog at Hoofcare.com
© 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.

Need to Laugh? Watching the New "Farriators" Video Can Help!

(If you read this Hoof Blog by email, you will have to click through to the actual blog to watch these two video clips. Hint: It's worth it.)

Let's face it, farrier competitions are a tough subject in the world of videos. The lighting is usually poor, there's smoke in the air, the forge blowers howl, cameramen inevitably focus on the horses' faces instead of their hooves, and the farriers you want to shoot always have their backs to you. Get in the way and someone will surely trip over your cord and fall into the fire.

Leave it to the Irish to put some humor into the serious "sport" of farrier competitions. Farrier Supplies Ireland is trying to get the "Green Anvil" competition circuit established, and they somehow teamed up with visual anthropologist Lia Philcox from London, who must have quickly figured out that the participants all had a sense of humor and made that the theme of the video.

One reason I like this video is because there is almost no narration, which means our friends in Japan, the Ukraine, Iran, Chile and Slovenia (among many other countries who read this blog) can have a good laugh even if they don't speak English.

Here's Part One (click on the screen to play):


And here's Part Two (click to play):


Thank you, Lia, for unlocking the video so we can show it here. And thanks, Farrier Supplies Ireland, and thanks to all the fearless Farriators! You're all winners because you have made a lot of people around the world laugh! And cheer!

© Fran Jurga and Hoofcare Publishing. No use without permission. Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog is a between-issues news service for subscribers to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal. This blog may be read online or received via a daily email through an automated delivery service.

This post was originally published on October 19, 2008 at www.hoofcare.blogspot.com.

To subscribe to Hoofcare and Lameness Journal, please visit our 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.