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‘Olympics of Blacksmithing’ Down To Final 10 Anvil-Bashers

July 11, 2010

CALGARY, AB --- Ralph Waldo Emerson talked about building a better mousetrap. Well, consider Iain Ritchie obsessed with crafting a better horseshoe.

“I want to do it a little faster, a little better, a little easier, and each year I seem to give up another activity as a result,” says the farrier from Pitt Meadows, B.C., who’s traveled to Calgary – along with 55 other worldwide members of his profession – for this weekend’s 31st annual Calgary Stampede World Championship Blacksmiths’ Competition. “I’ve given up soccer. I’ve given up a lot of my golf. I’ve given up a lot at home to concentrate on this.

“I break it up into two areas, the horseshoeing aspect and the shoemaking aspect. I feel pretty confident in horseshoeing, which is what I do every day,” adds Ritchie, who shoes hunter/jumper, dressage, and Vancouver police horses in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. “But it’s the shoemaking that Grant Moon and Darren Bazin and Steven Beane win all the time, and that’s the area I’m trying to improve on.”

Three former Stampede champions, including 2009 titleist Beane, of England, are among the group of anvil bashers competing this year at the WCBC, known popularly as the “Olympics of blacksmithing.” Twelve countries are represented under the Big Top: England, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland, Hungary, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, the United States and Canada.

A total of $50,000 in cash and prizes are up for grabs, with the winner receiving a $10,000 cheque, a limited edition bronze trophy, a Stampede handcrafted buckle, and a champion’s jacket.

Saturday night, after accumulating points in eight different forging and shoeing classes over three days, the top 10 competitors were announced for the semifinal on Sunday, July 11 at 9 a.m. under the Big Top. Squaring off will be Beane, Colain Duret of Priddis, Alta., Scotland’s Ian Gajczak, Derek Gardner, and David Varini, and Americans Jake Engler, Gene Lieser, Chris Madrid, Tim McPhee, and Jim Quick.

Duret, the local farrier known affectionately as Duck, will be left to carry Canadian hopes on Sunday, as Ritchie failed to crack the top 10. “It’s a big blow to take,” remarked Ritchie.

Ritchie, who moved to Canada from Scotland 12 years ago, took up hammer and tongs 21 years ago at the age of 16. Last year, he represented Canada’s best shot at a WCBC title – Bob Marshall was the last Canuck to win it all, back in 1986 – and ended up fifth overall.

It was somewhat of a breakthrough for Ritchie, who’d never been a WCBC finalist. But a few more results like that, and he may start to see some dividends like Bazin has experienced. With three WCBC titles to his credit, and a runner-up finish in 2009, England’s Bazin is the most decorated blacksmith under the Big Top this weekend with the exception of Welshman and WCBC Hall of Famer Grant Moon, who’s won six Stampede buckles.

“Being a world champion, you get to shoe better horses, and you work with better clientele,” says Bazin, 39, of Kettering, Northamptonshire, who also competes in other world-class blacksmithing competitions such as the Royal Show, the International, and the European championships. “There’s a lot of good younger guys competing now, but I rely on experience, really, and there’s a lot of preparation that goes into a competition like this. You can’t just show up and compete –not at this level.”

The top five from Sunday’s 10-man semifinal will return immediately for the WCBC’s final round under the Big Top at 11:30 a.m.

“Last year, we brought attention to the (WCBC’s) 30th anniversary, and it was an opportunity for past world champions who hadn’t been here for a while to congregate for a special event,” says Blaine Virostek, chairman of the Stampede’s Blacksmiths committee. “But we do continue to see new, younger guys starting to compete at this level, so the talent pool has definitely been growing over the past six to eight years. That shows us we’re going in the right direction.”

Virostek also says this year’s 31st annual competition marks the beginning of a subtle change in proceedings, with a move toward a team concept.

“This year, for example, we’re introducing a two-man shoeing competition,” he says. “When you get back into the industry, farriers do work in teams. There’s a master-apprentice kind of relationship. It’s a real-world application.”

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