All of the members of the Canadian Farrier Team, which will compete at the Calgary Stampede World Blacksmithing Championships in Calgary this July 2006, are from Western Canada with three of the five from Olds College.
Team members this year are team captain Bruce Hague from BC, Adam Degenstein (Olds College Advanced Farrier Science 2003) also from BC, Colain Duret (Olds College 2004) from Calgary, and Blair Bartlett from BC. The team alternate and team manager is Olds College Advanced Farrier Science program coordinator, Dean Sinclair.
“We’re really proud that all the team members are from Western Canada and that three of them are from Olds College,” said Sinclair.
“Twenty-four competed for the team over three days of competition in March, working against the clock to shoe a live horse and complete a specific shoe. It’s a tough competition, but the result is an excellent team with a great mix of talent and experience. We expect to do well in competition.”
The team will be up against the best at the World Blacksmithing Championships, held during the Calgary Stampede for the last 26 years. Teams come from as far as South Africa and Australia to compete, and this year 20 teams are expected to take part. The Canadian team will also compete internationally in England later in the year.
“It’s a team effort,” said Sinclair. “Starting from scratch, the four farriers have two-and-a-half-hours to make four shoes for a draft horse. It requires a unique set of skills: you have to be able to handle the fire and the iron to make the shoes and handle that big horse. And all the time the clock is running. You won’t find a tougher competition anywhere.”
Five current Olds College Advanced Farrier Science students are also chosen each year to assist the team during the competition. They work with the horses and help manage the fires and other components of the event.
The five-day World Blacksmithing Championship starts two days before the official start of the Calgary Stampede on July 7. Olds College is one of only two post-secondary schools in Canada that offers a blacksmithing or farrier program.
