For the fifth time at the International Hoof-Care Summit, VICTORY sponsored the Summit Mail-In Forging Exercise. This challenge was free to enter and participants each received a T-shirt for their efforts. The overall winner earned a belt buckle and free registration to the 2020 International Hoof-Care Summit (IHCS). Contestants could mail-in their entry to the American Farriers Journal office or drop it off at the IHCS in Cincinnati, Ohio.

And while the winner was a first-time entrant into this contest, this certainly wasn’t his first competition. Steven Beane of North Yorkshire, England took the prize. He also came to the Summit to present his work on “A Comparison of Two Different Dorsal Hoof Wall Trimming Techniques.” Beane is a five-time Calgary World Champion Blacksmith, three-time European Champion (current) and three-time British National Champion (current).

The Challenge

The contest called for participants to use concave stock to make a shoe measuring 5 5/8 inches at the widest point and 2 5/8 inches wide at the heels, by 5 3/4 inches long. The shoes also features quarter clips and three stud holes. Edgewood, N.M., farrier and World Championship Blacksmith president Craig Trnka made the specimen shoe and judged the contest.

This was Trnka’s judging criteria, ranked in order of importance:

• Size (match the measurements).
• Nail fit and stud fit.
• All forging elements are present in
  the shoe.
• Flatness of the shoe.
• Quality of clips.

From Trnka’s point of…