Four farriers are set for induction into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame at the 2025 International Hoof-Care Summit in Kansas City, Mo.
The 2025 class includes Travis Burns of Blacksburg, Va.; Wesley Champagne of Altadena, Calif.; Nigel Fennell of Irvine, Ky., and formerly of Surrey, England; and Dusty Franklin of Minco, Okla.
Travis Burns, CJF (TE, EE), FWCF
Travis Burns has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest, influences in the horseshoeing industry in the last 15-20 years and continues to pave the road for upcoming generations, says the individual who nominated him.
He has helped 10 apprentices become American Farrier’s Association (AFA) Certified Journeyman Farriers (CJF) and Certified Farriers (CF) with three earning the Therapeutic Endorsement and two receiving the Advanced Skills Farrier (AFS) qualifications from the Farrier International Testing System (FITS). He served on the board of the AFA and National Alliance of Equine Practitioners (NAEP), while also serving as president of the AFA for 2 years with one of his main focuses to revise certification tests.
The chief of Farrier Services at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., has taught and continues to teach countless veterinarians of all ages and experiences about equine podiatry and the importance of vet-farrier relationships. He plays a huge part in continuing education and has led hundreds of lectures and clinics for farriers and vets across the United States and the world.
Burns has some of the most diverse knowledge in farriery having been involved in multiple research projects. He is known for his skills in modern materials, as well as being very competitive in forging contests like the World Championship Blacksmiths and World Horseshoeing Classic. Being so skilled in both aspects of shoeing is a rare trait in the industry. Burns’ accolades, accomplishments and his service to continuing education speak volumes of his character, the farrier he is and the huge impact he has left on the farrier industry.
Wesley Champagne
Wesley Champagne is a passionate worker, servant to the horse, inventor, teacher and has shod a variety of racehorses, including Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus; American Pharoah, the first horse to win the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing; and Justify, the 13th winner of the Triple Crown.
Coming from a racetrack family, Champagne left his role as an exercise rider and studied under Doug Butler at age 20. In 1982, Wes went to work for Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer Laz Barrera and shod all his champions until Berrera’s death in 1991. He followed that by working for two more Hall of Famers — Bobby Frankel and Neil Drysdale. Both experienced decades of multiple Eclipse Award winners and record-breaking champions.
Bob Baffert, another Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racing trainer, brought Champagne on board to shoe American Pharoah and Justify. Champagne was the only farrier who ever touched American Pharoah during this historic run. Baffert followed with another Triple Crown winner with Justify in 2018, which Champagne also worked with.
Always seeking solutions, Champagne developed a system in the 1990s called Glue-On Shoes. Thoro’bred Race Plate backed a video production and clinic for Champagne in California. Shoers attended from all over the country, showing his commitment to educating farriers. Fusaichi Pegasus was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby in Glue-On Shoes by Champagne. While he didn’t invent glue-on shoes, but Champagne developed a process that is widely used. The video sold more than 60,000 copies worldwide.
Champagne went on to create the Blacksmith Buddy, a silicone/polyurethane prosthetic horse’s leg with attachable and detachable hooves, a training device for farriers and veterinarians. He shepherded Blacksmith Buddy through a long research and development process with doctors of prosthetic devices for the military, engineers from BMW, plastic manufacturers for the space industry, robotic engineers for the movie industry, adapted mounts from police helicopter cameras, the stages for music performances and many long years of trial and error. The Blacksmith Buddy is in 28 veterinary teaching hospitals.
Nigel Fennell, FWCF (Hons)
Nigel Fennell passed his Fellowship exam with Honors from the Worshipful Company of Farriers (FWCF) in 2022. The Fellowship is the highest accolade with the Worshipful Company of Farriers and in the farrier world. There have been 202 people who have achieved their Fellowship since the start of the exam in 1928 and only 29 who has passed with Honors, of which Fennell is one. Out of the 217 Fellows, only 39 are alive and only three (Fennell included) have Honors.
Starting in 1989 and qualifying in 1995 in the United Kingdom, Fennell has operated his horseshoeing business and has gained a wealth of experience in the farriery industry along the way. His competition experience has taken him around the United Kingdom and throughout the world. The highlights include the National Industrial Blacksmithing Champion; two-time Italian Farriery Show champion in Verona Italy; two-time British Horseshoeing National Champion Medalist; eight-time representative on the England Farrier Team; 2014 Reserve Individual International Show Champion; England Farrier Team Manager from 2012-2018; two-time World Horseshoeing Championship finalist in Calgary, Canada (2007 and 2013); and finalist at the Europe Farriery Championships in Austria 2012. Most recently, Fennell was U.K. National Reserve Champion in 2015 and won the prestigious World Horseshoeing Team Classic title in Kentucky in 2016 and 2017. Fennell was Match Play Champion at the World Champion Blacksmiths competition in Virginia, 2017. In 2019, Fennell won the Alberta Farrier Championships.
Fennell has worked and trained alongside some of the finest farriers in the world, all of whom have influenced his work in some way. He is an included clinician on the farriery training website “Know Foot Know Horse” and is an appointed and approved judge by the Worshipful Company of Farriers in England. For many years, Fennell has been a farriery clinician and judge, teaching worldwide and holding clinics in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Germany. Fennell holds both the Diploma of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (DWCF) qualification and the post graduate higher exam the Associateship of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (AWCF). In 2022, he also earned the Forging Endorsement (FE) through the American Farrier’s Association.
Dusty Franklin, CJF, AWCF, ASF
Franklin has been shoeing horses full-time since 1992 after working for several years with his father, who is also an AFA Certified Journeyman Farrier. He has been involved in the horse industry for more than 36 years as a youth competitor, amateur competitor and now as a father of a competitor in farriery. He owns and operates Five Star Horseshoeing School in Minco, Okla.
In 1995, Franklin began working toward his Certified Farrier certification. Soon after, he earned his certification as a Certified Journeyman Farrier. In 1996, Dusty began competing in horseshoeing competitions around the United States and Canada, advancing from a Division I competitor to the Open Division within a year. Dusty was asked to become an American Farrier's Association Certification Tester in 1997 and traveled to certifications working with Examiners. In 1997, he became an American Farrier’s Association Provisional Examiner and traveled to certifications working with Examiners and became an Examiner in 2003. He is one of 20 Examiners within the AFA that certify farriers under its guidelines.
Franklin competed at the AFA Convention competition, earning a spot on the American Farriers Team in February 2009. He was also nominated by members of the American Farrier’s Association as “Outstanding Educator,” “Outstanding Clinician” and “Edward Martin Humanitarian Award” in 2009. He was awarded the 2010 “Outstanding Educator.”
Franklin has attended and presented clinics in Brazil, Canada, England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and throughout the United States.
In addition to competing on the American Farriers Team, Franklin has also competed on the World Championship Blacksmiths Team. He has won the 2011 Stonewell Striker of the Year. He completed the FITS Exam, which is an international farrier testing system. He is an Examiner with that organization and believes in further education through competition, certification and clinics. In addition, Franklin has earned the recognition as an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers.
The International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to honor farriers around the world who have made significant contributions to the profession and who have left a permanent, positive impression on their peers and clients. Its permanent home is at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Ky.
Farriers are nominated to the hall by their peers, trainers, veterinarians, horse owners, friends and family members. The names of nominees are submitted to current hall members, who serve as the board of electors.
Nominations for the 2026 class will be accepted from the public until May 31, 2025. To enter, please complete the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame nomination form or send a 1- to 3-page summary explaining why your nominee should be inducted to: Awards, American Farriers Journal, P.O. Box 624, Brookfield, WI 53008-0624. Fax: 262-782-1252. If you have any questions, please email info@americanfarriers.com.
The International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, during the International Hoof-Care Summit at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. The International Hoof-Care Summit is the largest equine hoof-care conference in the world with 60 educational sessions over 70 hours. The Summit also offers 9 uninterrupted hours of the world’s largest hoof-care trade show. Visit IHCS2025.com for registration and hotel information.
