Volume 7, Issue 1 / February 2006

President's Report

Wow what a great year! We had some terrific events that transpired in 2005 and without the support of the VHA membership, none of it would have been possible.

We were once again very fortunate to have Bob Marshall as our clinician for our Winter Clinic in January. The clinic was held at Russ Hite's shop in Mechanicsville, VA. Thanks to Russ and Jennifer Hite for putting all this together.

Scott Collier coordinated a Leg Dissection Clinic that was held in March at the Keswick Equine Clinic in Keswick, VA. This was a very informative clinic. The VHA would like to thank the Keswick Equine Clinic for hosting this event and thank Scott Collier for handling the details.

We were honored to have Shayne Carter return to provide a clinic in May at Mica Springs Farm in Mineral, VA. Shayne presented a Powerpoint presentation on hoof trimming. Shayne also shod a horse with handmade shoes made from concave stock. At the end of the clinic, the VHA held an auction and Shayne made hand made shoes and donated them to the auction.

In August, Mike and Judy Spitzer coordinated having Chris Gregory present a clinic on making the contest shoes for the Augusta County Fair Forging Contest. The clinic was held at Mike Spitzer's shop (Mountain View Equine Clinic) in Mt. Sidney, VA. At the conclusion of the clinic, an auction was held and some pretty terrific items were donated by Chris and the VHA membership. Additionally, Chris was the Judge for the Forging Contest held during the Augusta County Fair. See page 4 for the contest results.

In October, with the help of Harold Plasterer, the VHA was able to hold another AFA Certification. This years examiner was Andrew Elsbree and the certification was held at Mica Springs Farm in Mineral, VA. The VHA is hoping to provide at least one AFA certification each year.

We caped off the year in December with an outstanding 2-day Year End Meeting & Forging Clinic. The events were held at Cismont Manor Farm in Keswick, VA. On the first day, the Forging Clinic was provided to a limited attendance with clinicians Mark Milster and Austin Edens. On the second day, Mark and Austin provided a Free Clinic in conjunction with the Year End Meeting. The VHA wishes to thank David and Mel Watson for all their efforts in putting this annual event together. A special thanks goes to Cismont Manor Farm for hosting this event.

Back to Hammer & Tongs!