David Smith wins best shod foot at Badminton

As published on page 26 of Forge Magazine June 2013

By Fran Jurga

Each year, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials presents a ‘Farriers Prize’ for the best shod horse at the world's most prestigious three-day event. At Badminton, the Farriers Prize is sponsored and administered by the Worshipful Company of Farriers (WCF), in conjunction with the event itself.
The prize recognises the ‘owner and farrier of the best shod horse’ and the judge is appointed by the WCF. The Company appointed someone who knows the ropes; farrier, Jim Blurton, has won the award three times himself, tying with Badminton House's own farrier, Bernie Tidmarsh, for the record number of prizes won.
The Hoof Blog learned from Jim that he had inspected the horses that had survived dressage and cross-country phases of the event, before the show-jumping phase on the Monday. By event records, that means he inspected the hooves of 65 horses.
While Jim was judging the feet, he was shadowed by Nigel Brown, an apprentice judge in the WCF system. In order to qualify as a judge, a farrier has to learn to judge both shoeing/forging competitions and the best-shod competitions, which are essential to keeping the importance of good farriery in the public eye and the horse industry. As Jim judged, the scores were recorded by a representative of the Badminton Horse Trials.
Jim admitted that not all the horses were prepared for judging, since some of the horses from abroad were unaware that their horses' hooves would be judged. However, if a farrier in England knows that a client's horse is Badminton-bound, he or she knows that the hooves will be picked up and judged on the final day of the event.
Jim Blurton's comment on the winning job: ‘The horse was shod with the intention of winning!’ He was referring to the hooves of Noble Bestman, stable name ‘SuperSteve’, a 13-year-old gelding by Belgian Warmblood sire Ramiro B, ridden by Laura Collett of Wiltshire. According to British Eventing, it was the horse's third 4* event, but his first time around Badminton.
Jim noted that the horse was shod all around with handmade shoes. ‘It was a very nice job, well shod,’ Jim commented. He recalled the similar extra effort that farrier Jim Hayter had taken a few years ago, when his client's horse won after going around Badminton's gruelling cross-country course on Jim's handmade hind bar shoes. ‘He could have easily put machine-mades on that horse that time,’ Jim recalled. ‘But he didn't.’
Farriers can't have just a picture-perfect shoeing job in mind when they work on a horse before an event with a ‘best shod’ class. Although an impressive handmade shoe can score points with the judge, it means nothing if the horse didn't make it through the two vet inspections, the dressage, and the cross-country with those shoes on. The function of the shoe, the effect on gait and stride, and the safety of the ride must remain paramount, or the horse will not make it to the last day and the hoof judging.
Sometimes, in these best-shod classes, the judge is not as impressed by handmade shoes as by how the farrier worked with the horse's conformation. A horse with mismatched feet that is shod thoughtfully and effectively might be favoured.
Noble Bestman might be the first horse whose candidacy for the ‘Best Shod’ award was launched, unknowingly, via social media when his rider posted images of his engraved toe clips. Laura tweeted images of her horse's clips a week before the event, as her horse--@SuperSteve is one of those talking horses who is fun to follow on Twitter.
David Smith is a multiple-times English National Champion and Team England member, who has competed all over Europe and North America, including the Calgary Stampede's World Championship.
Farrier David Smith decorated Super Steve's toe clips with four-leaf clovers for good luck at Badminton. They must have worked because the horse made it through all the phases to score a completion

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