Each year, American Farriers Journal celebrates three young farriers who have made exceptional progress in their hoof-care careers within 3 years of graduation from farrier school.
Honored at the International Hoof-Care Summit in January, this award not only recognizes the footcare leaders of tomorrow but promotes the importance of education and encourages farriers to strive for success in their careers.
The 2024 recipients include Sam Hogan, CJF, of Kentucky Horseshoeing School, Mason McAllister, CJF, of Heartland Horseshoeing School and Amanda Smith, CF, APF-I, CEBMS, of Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School.
Each Rising Shoeing Star will receive free registration to the 2025 International Hoof-Care Summit, a plaque, a 1-year subscription to American Farriers Journal and the AFJ "Kitchen Sink" package, which includes a footcare library with more than 3,500 pages of reference material. The schools that produces the three winners also receive plaques and copies of the Kitchen Sink package.
Created in 2009, this award is co-sponsored by Pyranha Animal Health, Victory Racing Plate Co. and American Farriers Journal.
Nominate a Rising Shoeing Star
To nominate a farrier who graduated from hoof-care school in 2022, please send a letter detailing when your nominee graduated, what shoeing school they attended and what they’ve accomplished since graduating.
The deadline for nominations is May 31, 2025. Mail your nomination to American Farriers Journal, P.O. Box 624, Brookfield, WI 53008-0624, or email it to info@lessitermedia.com.
Sam Hogan
Graduating from Kentucky Horseshoeing School (KHS) in June 2021, Hogan distinguished himself by earning the KHS “Trifecta,” which includes the Best Shod Foot, Academic Achievement and High Point Proficiency awards.
Hogan apprenticed and then accepted an associate position with C-Cross Farrier Service, operated by Jason Critton in Denver, Colo., where he achieved his CJF within 10 months of graduation. He served as a show farrier for the FEI World Cup Finals and Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, world champion barrel racer. In addition, he earned division championships at the 2021 Colorado Classic and the C-Cross Winter Competition. In 2023, he and Critton teamed up as the official farriers of the World Cup jumping and dressage finals in Omaha, Neb.
Mason McAllister
A quick learner, McAllister passed his Journeyman Farrier certification in December 2021, 3 months after graduating from the Heartland Horseshoeing School journeyman course. In 2022, McAllister also won second place at the South Western Ohio Farriers Association contest at Miami University.
McAllister moved to Lexington, Ken., to apprentice with podiatrist Rob Spencer before starting S&M Farrier Services with his wife in 2022. In their practice, roughly half of their shoes are handmade for a mixed bag of disciplines and breeds, largely hunter/jumpers. In the winters, he shoes upper level event horses in Ocala, Fla. His positive reputation has allowed him to work with the Ohio Lebanon Equine Clinic on therapeutic cases.
Amanda Smith
Smith graduated from Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in May 2021 and is a member of the American Farrier’s Association (AFA) and International Association of Professional Farriers (IAPF). She’s also earned the title of Certified Equine Behavior Management Specialist through the Animal Behavior Institute. Serving as the secretary of the Western States Farriers Association (WSFA), she organized the Northern California Classic, designed the WSFA website and organized volunteer operations for the 2023 and 2024 AFA Conventions.
For the IAPF, Smith wrote the Equine Behavior Manual, has logged over 250 hours of continuing education credits and has passed both the IAPF foundation exam and the equine nutrition exam. For her contributions, she received the 2024 Board of Director’s Award and a second award for being in the top-10 for continuing education credits earned by a clinician.
