It would be easy to sit around as a horse show farrier and collect a paycheck while waiting for something to happen. After all, there’s a fair amount of down time, and it would be a nice break after shoeing scores of horses the previous week.

Just don’t expect that from Jason Critton, CJF, TE, and his C-Cross Far­rier Services team. Easy isn’t in the Sedalia, Colo., shoer’s vocabulary. Critton views horse shows as op­por­tunities to continue his hoof-care education.

C-Cross Farriers and their associates work 12 weeks of hunter/jumper shows each year at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker, Colo.

“Being at the horse shows and watching horses compete day in and day out has opened my eyes to how much demand is put on them,” Critton says. “We get to see a lot of horses that come from all over the country. I feel like being at the shows gives us greater insight into what’s working and what isn’t in regard to footing, travel and show horse demands.”

So, when Critton had an opportunity of a lifetime to be the official farrier of the 2017 Longines Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Cup in Omaha, Neb., he jumped.