Volume 8, Issue 1 / March 2007

Benefit Clinic for Bruce Pfaff

Mike and Judy Spitzer coordinated a benefit clinic for injured Virginia farrier Bruce Pfaff. The clinic was held at Mike's shop in Mt. Sidney, VA with Danny Ward, Corey Minnick and Ben Pittman serving as clinicians. Approximately 45 persons were in attendance and a great time was had by all. There was no fee charged to attend the clinic but a donation for Bruce was requested. As a result, over $4,000 was raised to help Bruce during his recovery. Roger Robinson and Jay Tomlinson of the Blacksmith Shop in Bridgewater, VA provided lunch for everyone.

What a Way to Wrap Up the Year!

The Virginia Horseshoers Association held its annual General Membership Meeting and Clinic on December 2nd at Hockaday Hill Farm in Spotsylvania, VA. The meeting and clinic were held in the nicely heated indoor arena which allowed for the estimated 65 attendees to be very comfortable throughout the entire day. I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet those members I hadn't yet met and put a face with a name. I was equally thrilled to be able to catch up with members I hadn't visited with in quite some time. The whole day was terrific! I had a great time. But hey, enough about me.

This year, the VHA had the privilege and honor of having Mr. Edgar Watson of Keswick, VA as their clinician. As always, Mr. Watson unselfishly provided his knowledge, experience and skill to deliver an informative and insightful shoeing demonstration. More on the clinic will follow but let me first recap the actual meeting.

VHA President, Butch Hockaday conducted the General Membership Meeting and began the meeting by presenting the VHA Treasurer's Report as prepared by yours truly. The closing balance in the VHA account as of December 2nd, 2006 was reported as $11,830.52. Butch further announced that few members had taken the opportunity to enroll in the Injured Farriers Fund which had an enrollment deadline of November 24, 2006. Butch spoke of the importance of the Injured Farriers Fund and announced that the enrollment period would remain open until the conclusion of the Meeting and Clinic.

Butch also spoke about the VHA activities that occurred in 2006 and announced planned activities for 2007. This year is packed full of some pretty terrific events. For example, Bob Marshall will be here in March for his annual Forging Clinic and Shayne Carter will be visiting us again in April. Harold Plasterer is coordinating an AFA Certification that will be held in April; Ben Pittman is coordinating a clinic with John McNerney; Mike and Judy Spitzer are once again coordinating the Augusta County Fair Clinic and Contest; Scott Collier is working towards having a Leg Dissection Clinic; David Watson is coordinating the VHA Year End meeting with clinician Bob Pethick and Russ Hite has connections to allow the VHA to host a "Shoeing with Radiographs Clinic". Sounds pretty impressive, doesn't it?

At the conclusion of the General Membership Meeting, Mr. Watson began the clinic by discussing the heart bar shoe and its applications. Mr. Watson shod a horse with heart bar shoes up front with leather pads using Ironwork Bar Shoes and impression material. Mr. Watson went into great detail on trimming the mares feet and discussed her contracted heels. Mr. Watson also demonstrated how to make modifications to an aluminum heart bar shoe.

Mr. Watson covered not only heart bar shoes but also the modification of manufactured bar shoes, the application of pads and attachment to the shoe, nail fit and location, trimming, and the application of the shoe. Much about what Mr. Watson discussed can be applied to daily shoeing and can also apply to certification as well.

The VHA would like to thank Mr. Watson for a great clinic and apologize for the horses' lack of cooperation at the beginning of the clinic.

At the conclusion of Mr. Watsons' clinic, lunch was served and boy, was it good! Butch's family took care of lunch this year and everyone seemed to enjoy everything. We had chili, baked potatoes, barbecue, slaw, corn muffins, chips and snack cakes for dessert.

After lunch, the clinic turned to shoe board modifications as required for the AFA Shoe Display which is one requirement in the AFA Certified Farrier Certification process. The clinicians were Jock Owings, Scott Collier and Butch Hockaday. For those who were not interested is the Shoe Display modifications clinic, Mr. Watson remained available for a question and answers session on general horseshoeing topics.

As a requirement for the AFA Shoe Display, Jock Owings demonstrated the trailer and extended heel shoes followed by Scott demonstrating clips and the rocker toe. Butch demonstrated the use of a shoe to raise the hoof angle, hoof pads as well as the bar shoe. The demonstrations were well attended and the clinicians did a great job.

Near the end of the day, the VHA held a raffle and an auction. We received some really great items for the raffle and auction and several items were hand made or donated as auction items with the proceeds going to injured Virginia farrier Bruce Pfaff.

The VHA would like to thank the following companies for graciously donating to our raffle and/or auction: Flatland Forge, Farrier Products Division, NC Tool, Monetta Farrier Specialities, Nordic Forge, Ironwork Bar Shoes, Anvil Brand Shoe Company, Castle Plastics, Mustad Hoofcare Center, Delta Hoof Care, Delta Horseshoe Company, American Farriers Journal, Ink & Anvil, Bulldog Tools, World Championship Blacksmiths, Five Star Forge, Buddy Aprons, and Mid-Atlantic Farrier Supply as well as VHA members Derin Foor and Bo Terry. The VHA would also like to thank the following individuals for donating items to benefit Bruce Pfaff: Butch Hockaday, John Kern, Thomas Morgan, Sean Blasko, Jeff Kline, Joe Sitton, Steve Mayer, Daniela Steinbach, John Hockaday, Kim Vaughan and John 'DJ' Smith. The VHA was able to raise over $1,000 for Bruce to assist him and his family during his recovery.

At the conclusion of the raffle and auction, Jock, Scott, Butch and Pat Connor were available for hands-on work at the forges and anvils. Several individuals stayed late to take advantage of this opportunity. The VHA would like to thank Pat for graciously providing his talents and his time to help out with the clinic. The VHA would also like to thank Mr. Watson, Jock Owings, Scott Collier and Butch Hockaday for their support of the VHA and their dedication to the continuing education of the farrier.

As a final note, the entire day was recorded by my sister-in-law Donna Hockaday and I was lucky enough to get a DVD recorder from Santa Clause this year. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the meeting and/or clinic on DVD, give me a call or email me, and I will put them in the mail to you. See you next year!!

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