One of the oldest state horseshoeing organizations is gearing up to kickoff 2022 with its 51st annual clinic and contest.

The Michigan Horseshoers Association (MHA) is calling for entries to its forging classes and live shoeing contest. The clinic and contest will be Jan. 6-8, 2022, at the Michigan State University Livestock Pavilion in East Lansing, Mich. Tom Petersen, a certified journeyman farrier from Bozeman, Mont., will be the clinician and judge. Kahn Forge is the sponsor.

Petersen has won national championships with the World Championship Blacksmiths (WCB), the American Farrier’s Association and Australia’s Ekka competition. He was a member of the WCB team for 5 consecutive years.

Tom Petersen MHA

Tom Petersen competes during the 50th annual Michigan Horseshoers Association Clinic and Contest at the Michigan State University Livestock Pavilion in East Lansing, Mich. Petersen will be the clinician and judge during the 51st annual event Jan. 6-8, 2022.

The contest also features the Frank Lessiter Three-Man Draft Class, sponsored by American Farriers Journal and Bloom Forge. Lessiter, who was raised on a Michigan farm with draft horses and a graduate of Michigan State, is the long-time owner of American Farriers Journal.

The MHA first implemented thee three-man shoeing class in 2002 after International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame member Dick Becker of Lapeer, Mich., saw its benefits at the Rocky Mountain Farriers Association contest.

“One benefit for the host organization is it requires fewer horses and involves more teams,” says Jennifer Horn, a certified journeyman farrier from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and an organizer of the clinic and contest. “It also is designed so that in the team’s first go of shoeing the horses, each member his responsible for an aspect of the entire shoeing. One will do the floor work of nailing, clinching and finishing, while one builds thee shoes and the other strikes.”

The second go of the three-man class requires that each team member build a specimen shoe. The shoe list is designed for three levels of difficulty to accommodate different divisions of competitors. The team can use only station.

“Determining the order and sequence of the shoes being built is an important part of the team strategy when sharing the station efficiently,” she explains. “They also can strike, tend to the fire and rasp for each other.”

The specimens shoes count 25% toward the team’s score, while trimming is 25%, shoe building and fit is 25% and clinching and finishing is 25%.

To register and ensure your team has a horse and steel, contact Horn at (906) 440-2537. For shoe list and accommodations, visit the MHA Annual Clinic and Contest Facebook page.

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