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Farriers flock to Ipswich for Spring championships


  • More than 40 farriers descended on Trinity Park, Ipswich, on 2-3 March for the annual Eastern Counties Spring Championship.

    Although only in its second year, this championship, organised by the Suffolk Agricultural Association, with more than £1,800 up for grabs and medals from the Worshipful Company of Farriers, is proving a draw.

    The major class of the championship was the open hunter shoeing class, which was won by Jay Tovey (pictured) from Bedfordshire, who narrowly beat Steve Fisher from East Sussex to the £500 prize.

    Mr Tovey said: “A 50-minute hunter class is always tough, but even more so at the start of the competition season as there’s no room for any error.”

    Third year apprentice Dan Rabin from Powys was a double winner, taking the apprentice shoemaking (3rd & 4th Years) and apprentice therapeutic classes with Dan Hawkins from Devon taking the third apprentice crown in the class for 1st & 2nd Years.

    See below for the full results.

    A special training day was held on the Friday, with a masterclass in tool making and maintenance skills by Dorset-based farrier Andrew Reader-Smith.

    David Nunn from Suffolk Agricultural Association said: “We are very pleased the whole weekend was such an outstanding success.

    “This event comes at the end of two years of planning and hard work. The number of competitors in farriery have grown dramatically over the last year and I think this is just the beginning of many more successful training and competition days for the future.”

    He thanked the sponsors: AJN Steelstock Ltd, Handmade Shoes (UK) Ltd, Mustad and Otley College for providing the horses for the open hunter shoeing class.

    Further farriery competitions, training days and events are planned for this year, including a pre-diploma mock exam day on 14 April and the Suffolk Show farriery competitions on 7-8 June.

    Full details of all future events will be available on the Farriery at Trinity Park facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Farriery-at-Trinity-Park/278165758917539.

    Results:
    Open hunter shoeing
    1st – Jay Tovey DipWCF
    2nd – Steve Fisher DipWCF
    3rd – Ben Casserly DipWCF
    4th – Andrew Casserly AWCF
    Best foot – Jay Tovey DipWCF
    Best dressed foot – Ben Casserly DipWCF
    Best specimen shoe – Steve Fisher DipWCF

    Therapeutic
    1st – William O’Shaughnessy AWCF
    2nd – Harry Garner DipWCF
    3rd – Jay Tovey DipWCF
    4th – Ben Casserly DipWCF

    Apprentice shoemaking (1st & 2nd years)
    1st – Dan Hawkins
    2nd – Joe Welling
    3rd – Mike Butterworth
    4th – Ryan Ellis

    Apprentice shoemaking (3rd & 4th years)
    1st – Dan Rabin
    2nd – Charlie Cerullo
    3rd – Sammy O’Gara
    4th – Tom Newham

    Apprentice therapeutic
    1st – Dan Rabin
    2nd – Sammy O’Gara
    3rd – James Gant
    4th – Nathan Salter

    Eagle Eye
    1st – Steve Fisher DipWCF

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