The 2014 edition of a competition pitting the world’s best farriers, representing 16 countries, against one another will be the last blacksmithing championships held at Stampede Park as Stampede officials have decided to eliminate the event.
According to Bonni Clark of the Calgary Stampede, the championships, which have been a Stampede staple for the last 35 years, lasts only three days which limits public exposure.
Organizers would like to replace the event with something which would appeal to Stampede visitors throughout the ten days of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.
“People come here (to the Stampede) year after year,” explains Clark. “We want to make sure, as part of that tradition, they are seeing some things that are traditional and they are seeing something fresh and new.”
The decision does not sit well with members of the farrier community who view the move as shortsighted. Chris Gregory, one of the sixty farriers competing in the 2014 Blacksmithing World Championships, says the three day event brings awareness to the trade which improves the health of horses around the globe.
“If you really wanted to help horses, this is the last thing in the world you would get rid of,” said Gregory.
Calgary Stampede officials say blacksmithing will remain a part of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth in 2015, but have not indicated whether that will be in the form of a lower profile competition or farrier demonstrations.
With files from CTV's Kevin Green
