It was certainly a surprise when we heard the Calgary Stampede was dropping the World Championship Blacksmiths' Competition after 35 years. Not only was this decision a surprise to the farrier community, but it also was also a shock to the blacksmith competition organizers who had not suspected the elimination of this valuable learning experience.

As we noted here, long-time AFJ Managing Editor Pat Tearney retired at the end of 2013. While cleaning out his office, I came across dozens of bins and folders of farrier images, all of them predating the very comfortable and convenient age of digital images.