Farriers will have the opportunity to see how their forging skills rate compared to those of their shoeing peers from around the world during this summer’s Mail-In Forging Exercise at the 2004 World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The buzz around this always exciting and highly educational event is even greater this year due the special circumstances surrounding the 25th anniversary of the World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary, the competition, which is co-sponsored by the Calgary Stampede and American Farriers Journal, has set a goal of getting shoers from 25 countries to participate in this year’s mail-in event. Furthermore, all farriers who mail in their best attempt at this year’s challenging assignment — forging the split-wedge bar shoe — are eligible to receive a record-level of prizes and gifts.

Last year, each shoer who participated in the Calgary Mail-In Forging Exercise received $225 in valuable farrier products from industry suppliers. Additionally, the top 26 finishers split nearly $10,000 in products, resulting in a grand total of nearly $33,000 being given to all mail-in participants, making this exercise one of the fastest-growing, most-talked about events of the year for horseshoers.

A detailed listing of all Calgary Mail-In prizes will be featured in an upcoming issue of American Farriers Journal.

Best Contest Around

What makes this competition an honest, pure measurement of a shoer’s forging skills are the parameters set around the contest. Unlike “live-event” competitions, participants in the Calgary Mail-In Exercise aren’t subjected to extraneous…