Volume 8, Issue 2 / July 2007

Where Does The Time Go?

Wow, it sure has been a busy year so far for the Virginia Horseshoers Association. It seems like the hours, days, weeks and months fly by and then one day I realize that I haven't taken the time to publish your newsletter. For that, I am truly sorry. Pending production of your newsletter, I have tried to keep the you informed of events and happenings within the association by email, snail mail and postings on the VHA website, vahorseshoers.com. That however, is no excuse for not providing you with your membership benefit, the Hammer & Tongs newsletter.

A recap of the year so far includes a fantastic Bob Marshall Forging with Concave Clinic that was held from March 29th to April 1st at Russ and Jennifer Hite's home in Mechanicsville, VA. Due to the rapid growth of Jennifers' business, Five Star Forge and its occupancy of their shop, the clinic was held at the home of Russell and Judy Hite. This of course, caused not an ounce of inconvenience since they live next door to one another.

As you might imagine, there was maximum attendance at each of the 2 day clinics. The first 2 days were geared toward Novice Concave Forging with the last 2 days focused on Advanced Concave Forging. I have heard some great things about the clinics from those who attended and some were so impressed that they attended all 4 days. As usual, Bob did a terrific job and once again, reiterated his enjoyment at coming to Virginia and his desire to return next year.

Russ Hite has already scheduled Bob to return next year for what I assume is another 2 days of Novice and 2 days of Advanced Forging. Stayed tuned for further announcements.

WVFA Forging Competition

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia is the Gilmer County Recreation Center and the site of the 10th annual West Virginia Farriers Association annual Clinic and Forging Competition. The Clinic and Contest was held on Friday, April 20th and Saturday, April 21st with Mark Milster doing a superb job as Clinician and Judge.

This years contest included both Keg and Open Handmade Divisions. Their were 5 contestants in the Keg Division and 10 contestants in the Open Division. Friday began with a competitors meetings at 9:00 with the forging competition beginning at noon. The forging competition also included Live Shoeing for the top three high point contestants from the previous forging classes in each division.

At the conclusion of the Live Shoeing, Mark made a Draft shoe for the Draft Shoe Forging competition being held on Saturday. At the completion of the Draft Shoe Forging class on Saturday, Mark shod a horse with 4 handmade shoes. Mark put a pair of creased handmade shoes with toe clips on the front of the horse and applied a pair of pony roadsters with quarter clips made out of 3/8 x 3/4 steel on the rear of the horse. At the conclusion of the handmade shoeing, the WVFA held their raffle with some pretty wonderful items donated by vendors, farriers, friends and families.

The Gilmer Recreation Center was a fantastic place for this event. The center offered an indoor arena with a concrete floor for competitors with shoeing rigs. The arena also had an open-sided dirt floor area for free-standing units along with bleachers for spectator viewing. Bunk housing was also provided at the Community Center for a small fee. For myself however, I prefer my own space so the bunk house didn't work for me but was perfect for others.

This event was well worth attending for competitors, vendors and spectators alike. The scenery was gorgeous, the competitors and contest officials were very friendly and everybody had a great time. The catering was top notch with Barbeque, Deer and so much more. This event was well worth the drive and I can't think of a better way to spend time off from work. Plan to attend next year, you'll have a great time.

VHA Hosts AFA Certification

The VHA hosted an AFA Certification at Mica Springs Farm in Mineral, VA on April 14th and 15th. Dusty Franklin was our examiner this year and we had a really good turn-out. We had 13 test candidates working towards their Certified, Certified Tradesman and Certified Journeyman status. We had 2 individuals join the VHA during the certification process. The next time you see them, welcome new members Amanda Loveland and Brandon Shultz both of Greenville, VA.

The VHA is planning to host another certification sometime in the Fall are Spring of 2008 so stay turned for further details. The VHA would like to thank Harold Plasterer for coordinating the examiner details and arranging for the horses. We would also like to thank Jock Owings, Jerry Langdon, Scott Collier, John Kern, Sean Blasko, Derin Foor, and Jennifer Hite for handling the testing, scribe, and time keeping responsibilities during the certification. Finally, we would like to thank Mica Springs Farm for allowing us use of their facility again this year.

Please remember that it takes a lot of volunteer efforts to host a certification so when you participant in a certification, either hosted by the VHA or another association, please extend your appreciation.

Shayne Carter Clinic

The VHA was extremely fortunate to host another Shayne Carter clinic this year at Butch Hockadays' shop in Spotsylvania, VA. Shayne arrived a day early and took a day to go fishing with some of his friends here in Virginia and surrounding states. Russ Hite coordinated the day and arranged for a charter fishing trip to Nags Head, NC. I'm not sure who the thanks goes to but someone caught a Tuna and Butch and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you so much!

The 2 day hands-on clinic covered topics never before presented during a Shayne Carter clinic. Shayne discussed and demonstrated a wide range of shoes and tools. During the clinic, attendees made fullering blocks to be used in the making of a tool and fullered shoe. The fullering blocks were made from 2 x 2 inch square steel formed using a hydraulic press. 10 blocks were made so each attendee would have their own fullering block. Shayne covered in detail fullering, punching, and the making of the toe bend. These are all basic steps that he covered during each shoe demonstration. The tools and shoes demonstrated during the clinic were the tool and fullered shoe including the block, the roadster, the concave bar shoe, the plain punched shoe, the fullered shoe, as well as keg shoes.

We plan to have Shayne back in April of 2008 so keep your calendars open so you won't miss out on a great hands on clinic.

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