Four Olds College Farrier students ventured to Barrhead on February 10 to compete in against 41 of the best farrier the Wildrose Blacksmithing Championship. The students; Courtney Colette, Kaitlyn Hoefnagels, Denver McGregor, and Riley Pool, were accompanied by instructor Bari Harris to the competition. Each of the students had an impressive showing.
The event was broken down into three events; forging, shoeing, and speed forging, with each event having three divisions based upon the skill level of the participants.
In the forging category, competitors had to build a set of shoes to the judge’s specifications, with the size, style and construction material dependent on their skill level. Competitors were given 60 minutes to complete this task. In the speed category, competitors had to make one shoe, but were only given 22 minutes to complete it. In the shoeing class, participants trimmed and shoed one foot of a horse with a shoe they crafted.
Olds College was well represented at the event, with all four of our students having strong showings. Riley Pool showed tremendous consistency throughout the weekend, finishing 3rd in speed foraging, 4th in shoeing, and 3rd in forging, leading to a combined 3rd place overall finish. Kaitlyn Hoefnagels finished at the top of the shoeing class, while Denver MacGregor finished 2nd in the forging competition. All students competed in the division I category, while alumnus and former instructor Kris Kremp organized the competition.
Congratulations to students, staff and alumni for a strong showing at this farrier competition that featured a number of the best farrier’s from across the nation.
