Of approximately 50 supply shops nominated in North America, Olympia Farrier Supply of Olympia, Wash., is honored as the inaugural Supply Shop of the Year.
Hall of Fame judges Margie Lee Gustafson of Woodside, Calif., Steve Kraus of Trumansburg, N.Y., and Randy Luikart of Ashland, Ohio, assessed nominees based on a 20-question survey covering customer service, product variety & inventory, shipping & delivery, community engagement and accessibility. As the surveys contained identifying information, responses were edited to ensure an unbiased decision.
Olympia Farrier Supply is run by husband and wife duo Ken and Maxine Floyd, who are the keystones of their equine community.
“They’ve single-handedly kept our association strong by bringing together people who are on the fringe,” says Brian Strelow of Coupeville, Wash. “They do it in a way that isn’t intimidating. They encourage the younger farriers to come along, and having someone as a bit of a cheerleader, like they are, goes a long way. I remember the first event I went to. I didn’t talk to anybody. I was up against the back wall. That doesn’t happen when the Floyds are around. Pretty soon they’re saying, ‘Hey Brian, meet so-and-so.’ The next thing you know, they don’t feel like they’re all by themselves.”
The Floyds go above and beyond for their customers, from coordinating the Farriers Association of Washington State’s annual contest to offering educational discounts, connecting farriers to potential mentors and even shipping out every order with a bag of M&Ms.
“I never thought we’d be selected,” Maxine says about the award. “I didn’t even tell Ken we were nominated, or I filled out the survey. After you called to let us know, I told him, ‘You’re not going to believe this.’”
Learn more about Olympia Farrier Supply’s impact on the Washington community in the November issue of American Farriers Journal.
