Frank McGuiness (Cincinnati, Ohio)
I want to thank the AFJ for the opportunity to offer my tribute to two farriers who had a tremendous impact on not just my career, but on me personally as well. I have had a long and successful career. I am celebrating 47 years of working full time and still shoeing horses; just not as many. To what do I owe this longevity and success? Certainly good health and determination have played a role. However, I will be eternally grateful to Frank McGuiness and Dave Farley who cared enough to invest much time and effort to befriend and mentor me, not just in the mechanics of horseshoeing, but in business, ethics and most importantly, the great responsibility that goes with the care of horses and being a true horseman.
Riding and working with Frank was one of the most interesting times of my life. He was like someone with a masters degree in engineering with a minor in physics. He was incredibly creative and artistic, but he never hesitated to point out that the real art was on the bottom of the feet that belonged to the horses that he cared for. One day, I stopped in to see him on my way home from “fixing” a horse that was messed up from a shoer that Frank knew. I railed and ranted about how inept this guy was while he tinkered with some little thing on the worktable. When I finally wound down, he looked at me and said, “It’s guys like that, that make guys like you look good. Keep him around, throw him a bone now and then”. That was not the response I expected but, looking back, it was the best possible answer for me to hear. It was typical of the kind of cryptic answer he would give me, encouraging me to try to see the bigger picture. That answer, along with many more like it, filled in the gaps of my ignorance of people, horses and ethics. Frank McGuiness has since passed but I will always remember him as a major contributor to who I am today.
As influential as Frank was, I believe that knowing and working with Dave Farley has been both a privilege and a humbling experience. Interestingly, Frank was a mentor to Dave Farley as well. In fact, it was at that same point in time and through Frank, that I met Dave. I have known Dave for many years and consider him both friend and mentor. Most of what I know about solid basics, as well as shoeing upper level horses, I have learned from Dave. He has always been there to welcome me, teach me and share.
Several years ago, I found myself in Wellington, out of my element and up to my neck in a high profile account of very expensive but questionably sound Hunters and Jumpers. Having flown from Cincinnati to West Palm to service the account, I found some of my tools didn’t make the same stop I did. Dave was nearby, I called him and within minutes he was there with everything I needed, no questions. Through the years of my friendship with Dave Farley, I have grown to know and appreciate a man who, besides being arguably the best farrier in the world, is without a doubt one of the best humans on the planet.
No one I know is more generous, sincere or committed to “the right thing to do” than Dave Farley. I have no idea where I would be without the influence of both Frank McGuiness and Dave Farley. What I do know is that I have no doubt that I am a better person and a better farrier because of them. Thanks seems so little to offer back after what they provided to me but, it's all I can offer so, Frank and Dave, thanks from the bottom of my heart to both of you.
—Ernie Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio)
