An American Farrier’s Association (AFA) certification exam and 3 days of lectures and competition marked the 30th anniversary of the Northern California Classic, the Western States Farriers Association’s (WSFA) longest running event. With a tradition of providing certification, continuing education and competition to farriers in the western United States, Shelee Lyon, secretary of the WSFA and co-organizer of the event, of Ramona, Calif., says, “We like to treat the event like a mini convention and we try to gear it more toward education than just competition.”

The bars of the equine foot have gone through something of an ebb and flow in the minds of many farriers.

As far back as ancient Greece, horsemen have recognized the importance of the hoof, and the influence of the hoof-ground interface (on the way of going of the horse). Lacking the wings of Pegasos, real horses are subject to the shock of impact with the ground passing through their hooves and lower limbs.