"Time is flying by! School holidays and competitions mean a busy time for horses, their owners and us farriers! It is always advisable to book in early whenever a school holiday is coming up or when you have a competition/show in the diary just to make sure you get the appointment that most suits you and your horse!

The Mustad Champion of Champions Exhibition at the beginning of May, run alongside ‘Farriery Focus’ the National Association of Farriers Blacksmiths and Agricultural Engineers day of clinics and demonstrations for farriers, was a great success. Judged by David Wilson BEM FWCF AWCB (Scotland), a previous winner of the Calgary World Championships, and Marshall Iles CJF (Canada), Chief Steward at the Calgary World Championships, the competitors were split into two shoeing rounds whereby they were required to trim and dress a foot, make and fit a three quarter fullered front shoe for the foot, nail and finish the shoe to the foot and make a three quarter fullered roadster hind ‘specimen’ shoe to match the judge’s specifications; all in just 70 minutes. A fast and furious competitive round resulted in a display of forging and shoeing skills revealing the finest collection of farriery ever exposed, witnessed by approximately 300 farriers from the UK and Europe in the well-stocked viewing stands.

The evening black tie dinner culminated in the announcement of the overall winner of the Exhibition. Our good friend Paul Robinson an Irish farrier from Ayrshire, Scotland was crowned ‘Champion of the Champions 2010’ and was “delighted” to receive the amazing trophy and a cheque, donated by Mustad, for £5,000 for the Neonatal Unit at Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock where his beautiful daughter Kate spent time after she was born in December last year. Paul won the World Championships in Calgary in 2008 and last year won the National Championship in the UK. Thanking Mustad for putting on the event, Paul further endorsed his belief in farriery competitions as helping to “raise the overall standard” and noted that the Champion of Champions Exhibition has been an “amazing event for farriery”.

A total of £8,000 was raised for the various charities by participating Champions. A further auction on Saturday night with prizes donated by many of the Champions raised £3,200 which will be split between NAFBAE and Cancer Research UK.

Later on in May, Harry, Robbie and myself took part in the Welsh Farriers and Blacksmiths Association Spring Competition at the Royal Welsh showground. Harry and I finished third in the pairs shoeing class competing against teams of two qualified farriers. Harry and Robbie continued to do well at the Devon County show bringing home a third and a fifth between them – not bad for a first and a third year apprentice competing in mixed classes for first and second years combined and thirs and fourth year combined – they will both be eligible for the same classes next year! Further placings for me at the Bath & West show this weekend with a third and a ‘best shod foot’ – let’s hope we can build on this throughout the summer ahead.

From time to time I take on referrals from our local veterinary practice. These horses require particular remedial or therapeutic work and I work with the vet and owner towards finding a solution. Later on today I will be visiting a foal with a limb deformity and hopefully, with the owner’s permission, we will be able to keep you up to date with its progress. Cases such as this are both interesting and educational and, when the results go your way, can be extremely rewarding."