Results: English Farrier Steven Beane Wins His Fifth (and Final) Calgary Stampede World Championship in 2014

Steven Beane practicing at home before Calgary. Photo by Aaron Kampfer, used with permission.

Unofficial news from the Calgary Stampede has placed English farrier Steven Beane in the enviable position of having just won his fifth--and no doubt last--world championship at the Calgary Stampede.

Calgary Stampede: Forging On to the World Championship's Top Ten

The Calgary Stampede World Championship Blacksmiths Competition is over the hump. Competition through Saturday was an elimination series that was a complicated dance of simultaneous divisions run under timed conditions. At the end of it all, ten farriers emerged as the "Top Ten" who would go forward for the title of World Champion.

Calgary Stampede Opening Day: Blacksmiths in the Sun, Shatner in the Parade, Champions All

Last chance to be the World Champion: 60 farriers from around the world were entered for the 35th and final World Champion Blacksmiths Competition at the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada this week. (Photo © Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center by Sandra Mesrine)

The 35th (and final) World Championship Blacksmiths Competition at the Calgary Stampede entered its second day today, although it was technically the opening day of the Stampede itself.

Supply Side: Vettec Hoof Repair and Sole Support Innovator Acquired by Kerr Corporation

The following information has been provided to Hoofcare Publishing by Vettec Inc.:

Kerr Corporation, a global manufacturer of healthcare products, announced today that it has acquired DUX Dental and Vettec Inc. The acquisition will unlock new worldwide opportunities for growth in the large animal healthcare market.

Super Bowl in July? Watch a New Budweiser Clydesdale Commercial for FIFA World Cup Round of 16

This article has nothing to do with hooves, except for the fact that the Budweiser Clydesdales have big, heavy, famous ones.

By tonight, everyone will have seen this commercial, but here's a preview of what will surely make a delightful culture clash during ESPN's broadcast later today of the USA-Belgium match as the next level of FIFA World Cup competition begins for Team USA in Brazil.

Silent Anvil: Elvis's Horseshoer Has Left the Building, But Not Our Lives

Mississippi/Tennessee horseshoer Lim Couch died this week. He was Elvis's horseshoer and a longtime officer of the American Farrier's Association. "Give me an Elvis look," I remember saying when I took this photo. And he obliged.

Lots of horseshoers have famous clients. Some like to brag about them. Some keep quiet about them. And some keep them very close to their hearts and, if you ask, will share their memories. When that happens, it's special.

That's how it was with Lim Couch. Lim died on Saturday at the age of 75. Most people in the farrier industry know him as a past president of the American Farrier's Association, a quiet and dignified southern gentlemen who probably served more time and in more capacities to that organization than almost anyone.

Triple Crown Hindsight: California Chrome's Hoof Bulb Injury in Pictures

The dream is over, and that's horse racing. The champion is just a horse, after all. But a special one.

California Chrome: Horseshoer Judd Fisher with a Horse on the Doorstep of History

Best of luck to California horseshoer Judd Fisher as he waits to find out if the horse with his shoes on will make history today by becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Cross your fingers, rub a horseshoe, raise your glass--whatever happens, Judd has done a great job to get California Chrome to this point.  (Judd Fisher photo)

Read more about Judd Fisher and the special shoes that California Chrome wears.

Who Shod the Last Triple Crown Winner?

Sometimes a great event gives me a chance to dig into the archives and find some lost facts that deserve to have another chance to shine.

Triple Crown: Remembering Affirmed, the Horseshoer's Son, and the Horseshoer Himself

Whenever a big race is coming up, you'll see The Hoof Blog joyfully tweeting good wishes to jockey Rosie Napravnik. She is, after all, the horseshoer's daughter who made it to the big time. Her father, New Jersey shoer Charles Napravnik, often shows up in the winner's circle.

In fact, in the photo below of the Kentucky Oaks winner's circle when Rosie won on Untapable, you can clearly see Charlie, with his gray moustache and fedora hat, behind his daughter as she hoists the trophy over her head.

It's a lot of fun to be a Rosie fan, but she's not the first champion jockey to call a horseshoer "Dad". You'll see the original today in the Belmont Stakes coverage. He was the last jockey to win the Triple Crown.

E-Hoof: European Hoofcare Educational Reference Takes Profession to the Next Level

E-hoof.com is in the launching stage and is available for a ten-day free trial. The massive reference and education site has been under construction for years and Hoof Blog readers are invited to view the English-language site.

This article has been a long time in the making. For years, I have tried to peek behind the curtain while wizards created wonders. Finally, it is time to unveil what is surely the single most ambitious hoof-related education project that anyone has ever undertaken.

St Dunstan and the Devil: Why We Hang Horseshoes Over Doors

A French painting by Antoine St Aubert seems to illustrate one version of the St Dunstan legend, or a French legend like it. Religious history seems to be full of blacksmith and farrier saints!

Today is celebrated as the feast day of St Dunstan, a 10th Century saint who lived a quiet life as a smith and a musician in Sussex, England, until one night the devil paid him a visit and one of the great traditions of folklore was born: the nailing of a horseshoe over a door.

Who Left Those Hoofprints in the Sand?

The impermanence of art: the incoming tide will wash away the hoofprints on the beach near Mont St Michel, but the FEI has made a grand impression on the world that only 100 days remain before the opening of the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. (FEI photo)

It's 100 days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games begin in Normandy, France. Something was bound to happen, but who would expect this?

Badminton' Farriers Prize 2014: Irish Farrier Wins Best Shod Prize

Irish rider Clare Abbott trotted up the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Euro Prince for the 4* Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials last week. Not only did the horse complete the extremely difficult test in his first outing at the highest level of the sport, he also won the "best shod" prize for his farrier. (Photo courtesy of Professional Riders Organization, used with permission)

Whether it’s the list of those who have shod Kentucky Derby winners, or the list of the farriers behind (or underneath) the “Best Shod” horse each year at England’s Badminton Horse Trials, these are two lists that define the hard work that farriers do, and one of the few times in the year that the horse world notices shoes or shoers.

The Badminton list grew a little longer yesterday when not just a new name was added, but a new nation. Neil Dickson took the plaque of the Worshipful Company of Farriers aboard a plane last night and headed back across the Irish Sea to of County Down, in Northern Ireland.

Article © Hoofcare Publishing. If you'd like to re-publish, summarize or otherwise re-use the research that went into this article, please contact the publisher.

California Chrome Wins Kentucky Derby in Judd Fisher's California-Hybrid Horseshoes

There will always be an as asterisk next to the name of California Chrome in the Kentucky Derby history records. Yes, California Chrome was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby wearing glue-on shoes. Glue on shoes that weren't glued on, that is.

And that's only part of the story.

How Much is a Famous Horse's Shoe Worth? Derby Winner Orb's Raceplate on eBay Today

A horseshoe worn by 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb is being auctioned today on eBay. The auction benefits equine research.

People often what a shoe from a famous horse is worth. The answer isn't easy. Authentication is tough, and fraud could be rampant.

Have there ever been horseshoes on PBS's "Antique Road Show"? History Channel's "Pawn Stars" authenticated a horseshoe as having been on Secretariat's hoof based on the brand. Yet secretariat.com says that Secretariat always wore Victory plates. Most of the "authentic" shoes auctioned off as having been on Secretariat seem to be Thoro'bred plates. Will we ever know?

Derby Day Videos: Health and Safety Updates from Churchill Downs and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation

The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation funds equine research like the surgery at Rood and RIddle Equine Hospital described in this video; its Welfare and Safety of the Racehorsee programs work to keep racehorses safer and healthier during their competitive careers.

It's Derby Day!

It takes a lot of effort and skill to get a horse to the level of racing in the Kentucky Derby. There's luck involved, too. But you can be the best trainer with the best horse, and none of it matters if the racetrack and the industry aren't keeping up with safety and health initiatives that insure your horse has a fair chance.

Spring laminitis case videos: What’s new for prevention and hoof management?

It's spring, that annual stock-taking time when horse owners should be taking serious care of their horses' feet and examining them for signs of changes brought on by the shift of seasons and feeding as brown grass turns green. It's time for owners to talk to vets and farriers about their horses' overall condition and to look at age and lifestyle factors that might be increasing a horse's risk of laminitis-related lameness or a serious episode of the debilitating disease.

Footing Science: FEI Sport Horse Arena and Track Surfaces Report Download

Is there an ideal footing for all horses? Racetrack surfaces and sport horse arena surfaces are always fair fuel for arguments. The FEI's new report may add some science to personal preferences. (Photo © Hoofcare Publishing)

This announcement from the FEI includes an offer to download this extensive technical report for free: 

The world’s most extensive study into the effect of arena surfaces on the orthopedic health of sport horses in the seven FEI disciplines and in racing has been published by the FEI.

PBS "My Bionic Pet": Putting Hooves and Paws and Tails Where They Weren't

On Wednesday, April 9, the PBS documentary series Nature will focus on pets who are missing parts. The star of the show will be the all-time star of this blog, Molly the (Three-Legged) Pony, but you'll also meet Chris P, the piglet who lives in a wheelchair or Mr. Stubbs, the alligator who needed a tail, and a pack of pooches who are running with the best of them but without as many legs.

Shoeless in Lexington: Polytrack Podiatry at Keeneland's Last Artificial Surface Meet

An interesting experiment was available to bettors Sunday at Kentucky's Keeneland racecourse as trainer Wayne Rice prepared to send no less than six horses to the post in five races. None of them would be wearing shoes.

Dubai Hoofcare: What--or Who--Was Underneath the Horses in the World's Richest Race?

Australian farrier Rob Stevenson now lives and works in Dubai. He demonstrated shoeing a lead pony with
gold raceplates before the Dubai World Cup last week; this week he's in China.

The emirate of Dubai is a tiny speck on the map, but it is growing into one of the world’s premier destinations for farriers and innovations in hoofcare. Saturday’s Dubai World Cup races in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) brought not just the world’s best horses and trainers and jockeys to the tiny desert nation; it brought farriers and some horses left with more interesting equipment on their hooves than when they arrived.

Next Step in Re-vamp of Farriers Registration Act in Great Britain

A government report published on Wednesday takes another step toward modernizing a law governing who can shoe--or possibly trim--British horses.