James Novak

Courtesy of Tim Reid

My tribute for Farriers Week is a different kind of story. James Novak wasn’t my mentor. I didn’t learn how to shoe or forge from him. In fact, it was quite the opposite — Jim was my apprentice. He was always quick to lend a hand and never said no to anything that was asked of him. He genuinely attacked every challenge with a smile and a fantastic attitude.

I met Jim when he was about 15. My fiancée and I had just leased a barn where he was boarding his horse. As I was walking through the barn, I heard a noise and looked over — there was Jim, sprawled out in a wheelbarrow, taking selfies while wearing aviators. I remember smiling and shaking my head. Even then, he put a smile on my face.

For the next few years, he would help out, and I’d show him a few new things each time we worked together. He picked up the trade fast — he was a natural horseman. In his late teen years, he headed off to the University of Findlay in Ohio and did extremely well in the program there. We kept in touch, even if only a few times a year.

In the spring of 2021, I got a message from Jim: “Hey, old man, I’m back.” That was all it took. By August of that year, he had celebrated his 22nd birthday, and we were shoeing in some of the finest barns from Colts Neck, N.J., to the Hamptons in N.Y.

On September 24th of that year, I was returning home from a barn in the Hamptons, and Jim had just finished working in N.J., with some of our other associates. I reached out to let him know when I’d be home and that I had a check for him. About the time we were supposed to meet, he messaged me saying some friends had come into town and he couldn’t make it. I told him we’d catch up on Monday…

Only Monday never came for him.

I got a call from my fiancée that Saturday. All she said was, “Jim is gone.” I remember saying, “Where did he go now?” The reply was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. My friend was gone. The friend who brought joy and passion back into shoeing after 25 years — no more. The smile, the youthful, enthusiastic laughter — silenced.

Years later, it still hurts deeply to write this and think about him. The time we spent together — and now the years apart — have taught me to value true friends and the finite time we have with them.

So, in memoriam, I’d like to remember James Novak for the tremendous person he was — and the influence he still has today.

— Tim Reid, Granby, Conn.