To ensure good luck, athletes often bring a good luck charm with them.
But what happens when the competition actually involves making the luck charm?
That is the question 41 of the best farriers from across Canada answered during the Wildrose Blacksmithing Championship at the Barrhead Ag barn, Saturday, Feb. 10.
“This is the best field we have had yet. In the Division 3 category there are two past Canadian champions and 11 who have been a member of a past Canadian Farriers’ team,” said event organizer Kris Kremp. “Plus two of our past judges have decided to enter as competitors.”
He created the event to give Alberta farriers, like himself, another opportunity to not only compete against some of the best in the country, but to help them become even better at their craft.
Kremp’s interest in blacksmithing started as a youngster. Growing up on a farm he learned how to trim and shoe his own horses. It was this experience, which made him decide to make it a profession, studying at Olds College.
“It seemed like a pretty good way to make a living,” he said.
However, after working in the industry for about seven years, two of which were as an instructor at his alma mater, he decided to start competing on the Western Canadian Farriers Association (WCFA) circuit.
Depending on the year the WCFA sanctions up to a dozen competitions a year with stops including Walla Walla, Wash., Strathmore and Prince George.
“I just wanted to become more efficient at my craft and start working on more competitive horses, not just your acreage horses,” Kremp said, adding competing has enabled him to do just that. “Now I work on a lot of high level dressage and jumping horses, including some who compete at the international level going to events like Spruce Meadows.”
As for the Wildrose Blacksmithing Championships the competition is divided into three categories — shoeing, forging and speed, each having three divisions based on a competitor’s skill level.
In the forging category, competitors have to build a set of shoes to the judge’s specifications, with the size, style and construction material dependant on their skill level in 60 minutes. In the speed category competitors only have to make one shoe, but the amount of time shrinks to 22 minutes. The specifications for the shoes were released four months prior to the event.
In the shoeing class, as the name suggests, participants are asked to trim and shoe one foot of a horse with a shoe they created. A unique category of the Barrhead event is the two-person shoeing where a more experienced farrier in the open class is paired with a novice or intermediate.
Kremp noted horses were provided by local area farms and the event was judged by Randy Brassard, from the greater Toronto area.
“Randy has been part of many Canadian Farrier teams and is well respected. By having someone like him not only judge, but give a clinic it cannot do anything, but help grow not only the event, but interest in the farrier trade,” he said.
