Although the 2021 International Hoof-Care is virtual this year, the Summit Mail-In Forging Exercise is just as challenging as ever — with the added bonus of more time to enter. Without a live event in Cincinnati, Ohio, we are moving the judging to the World Championship Blacksmiths’ Fitchburg, Wis., contest in August 2021.

International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame farrier Craig Trnka of Edgewood, N.M., brings back concave for 2021 with the diamond toe hind shoe. This is a beneficial shoe for a horse that might grab a shoe on the diagonal, without taking foot length.

Thank you to VICTORY Racing Plate Co. for sponsoring this challenge again. You can watch a video demonstrating how to make this shoe at AmericanFarriers.com/summitshoe. You’ll improve your skill, earn a free T-shirt and may win the buckle. Remember, it isn’t about winning — it is about the journey.

The Judging Criteria

The steps are guidelines to give you a starting point, but use your imagination to make it to the specs required. Matching specs is most important. Trnka prioritized judging criteria as follows:

• Size. “If the shoe isn’t the right size, it won’t go on the foot I intended,”…