Six hoof-care professionals are set for induction into the International Horseshoeing and Equine Veterinarian Halls of Fame in early February at the 2026 International Hoof-Care Summit in the Cincinnati Metro Area.

The 2026 class of the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame are Les Armstrong of Staffordshire, England; Sonny Broadus of Saucier, Miss.; Bob Parks of Franklin, Tenn.; Paige Poss of Tucson, Ariz.; and Doug Russo of Ogden, Iowa. The 2026 class of the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame is Dr. Sammy Pittman of Collinsville, Texas.

International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame

Les Armstrong, FWCF

Les Armstrong is a highly respected and skilled individual. His expertise and knowledge are a direct reflection of his pride and accomplishments both as a blacksmith and a professional farrier.

Armstrong maintained a successful heavy horse farrier business until he retired to Armstrong’s Blacksmiths and Engineers. He is a successful proprietor.

A great ambassador for the farrier industry, Armstrong has been a staple of the Edward Martin Cultural Exchange program between the American Farrier’s Association and the British Farriers and Blacksmiths Association. Armstrong continues to share his knowledge and expertise with former program participants long after they have visited him.

Sonny Broadus

Sonny Broadus began shoeing in 1965. He primarily shod cutting and reining horses for the first dozen years of his career, using only handmade shoes and a coal forge.

During this period, Broadus shod 7 world-champion cutters. Broadus, Doug Whitehorn and Keith Moore were the most successful farriers, trading national championships each year.

Despite his success in the cutting and reining worlds, Broadus made his name on the racetrack.

His first mentor was Rip Kennedy. Broadus received a lot of help at the start of his career from old shoers who financially supported him when he had trouble finding work on the tracks. He liked working on “cheaper” horses because they “told on you” as a farrier more than expensive horses.

He repaid the kindness by giving back to the industry. Broadus was one of the founding members of the Southern Farriers Association. He was also a tough but fair tester. Broadus believed all testers should be able to pass a test at the drop of a hat. Since farriers who failed the test had to wait 6 months to retest, Broadus would tell those who weren’t ready to hold off on taking it and come back in 6 weeks. He was tough on the young guys because he knew it would help them excel later.

Bob Parks, CJF

Bob Parks began his career as a farrier while living in Montana, where he had moved as a young man to pursue a life of skiing and fishing, while living in a tepee and working odd jobs. His interest in iron work began after reading The Last of the Mountain Men written by Harold Peterson, an MIT professor.

In the winter of 1976, Parks left Montana and traveled east to attend school in New Hampshire to learn about traditional colonial ironwork. When he returned to Montana, he began receiving many requests for farrier work. Because of the volume of those calls, Parks started to ride along with practicing farriers and began designing therapeutic horseshoes. He attended Montana State University Farrier School and graduated in 1978, while continuing to apprentice and enhance his education.

Over the years, Parks also became involved with and contributed to several farrier and blacksmithing associations. He also began competing in farrier competitions and became an American Farrier’s Association (AFA) Certified Journeyman Farrier (CJF). In 1988 and 1990, Parks was chosen to represent the United States in international competition for the American Farriers Team.

In 1996, Parks opened a blacksmithing shop in Sugarcreek, Ohio, to create ornamental ironwork, host his well-attended hammer-ins and continue to shoe horses. He has provided training and demonstrations for historical workshops and farrier events across the country. He has also judged both regional and national farrier competitions.

Parks also shared his knowledge by writing several articles in various equine publications, including American Farriers Journal and The Horse Journal.

Paige Poss

Paige Poss has had horses her whole life. Her love of them led her to earn a degree in Animal Science at North Carolina State University. She then went on to work as a research technician for leading scientists in the fields of biochemistry, toxicology, physiology and nutrition.

Paige began her hoof-care journey in 1999. That same year, she brought home a horse with hoof problems that changed her life. She pulled the shoes and began trimming the laminitic gelding. Within a short amount of time, he was significantly better, and she found a new passion.

Fascinated by the results from the gelding, she began studying extensively and providing hoof care for horses in need. The more she learned, the more enthralled she became. Her journey continued with improving her knowledge about the anatomy and mechanics of the hoof through dissections, so she could help her horses.

In early 2013, Paige partnered with Jenny Edwards to form Anatomy of the Equine. The partnership blended Paige’s talents as a dissector, photographer and educator with Jenny’s gifts in graphic design, writing and educating.

Paige has conducted trimming, distal limb dissection and whole horse dissection clinics around the U.S. and the world. She also has shared her images and observations at hoof-care conferences at home and abroad, including Farrier Focus in England, the International Hoof-Care Summit and the International Lameness Prevention Conference. She has dissected hundreds of lower legs and documented her work in books, digital books and posters through striking photography that clearly identifies the internal structures and pathologies that hoof-care professionals face daily.

Doug Russo, AWCF, CJF

Doug Russo is the resident farrier of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. His role includes teaching a 2-week clinical rotation for fourth-year vet students, co-teaching a ½-semester lameness course and working in support of ISU’s surgery team.

Russo is a past president of the Michigan Horseshoers Association and has been active and supportive of the Iowa Professional Farriers Association. He is an active participant in several committees of the AFA and currently serves as chairman of the Equine Research Committee. He was a past AFA Board member and is an approved Certification Instructor. He is also president of the AFA Foundation.

In 2016, Russo became the first in Iowa and the 18th in the U.S. to achieve recognition as an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (AWCF). He is a two-time recipient (2022 and 2023) of the AFA’s Scott Simpson Outstanding Educator Award.

Russo nailed on his first set of shoes at 18 and hated every minute of it. It wasn’t until he was 27 that he sought an apprenticeship with Hall of Fame farrier Richard Becker, CJF. Becker was an AFA Examiner at the time and quickly coached Russo through his CF and CJF.

Russo started at lowa State’s Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center in 2015 and built a successful therapeutic farriery practice utilizing mostly traditional farriery and forging-based solutions. He excels at anatomy and understanding biomechanics thoroughly.

He became chair of the AFA’s Research Committee in 2016 and has built a grants system for farriers that has produced five studies to date. He has also given many clinics and lectures around the country.

International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame

Sammy Pittman, DVM, CF

Collinsville, Texas, veterinarian and farrier Sammy Pittman has devoted significant time to mastering equine podiatry for the sake of furthering knowledge for the industry.

Pittman has given countless hours of teaching and instructing, oftentimes for free, to help other equine professionals and owners understand equine biomechanics and anatomy. His heart is for the horses and those who make their living from them.

Pittman continues to learn every day, testing and retesting theories, to prove with scientific evidence the best possible approach to helping horses and other professionals succeed.