ARCHIVE - EFFA 2012

February 2012 - Forge Magazine

 

Archive - Forge Magazine - February 2012
Report on the European Federation of Farriers Association AGM

By Chris Linssner

EFFA's AGM was held in Barcelona in November 2011. As Barcelona is in the Catalonia region of Spain, the meeting was hosted by the Catalonian Farriers Association (Associacio de Ferradors de Catalunya). It was my first visit to an EFFA AGM as a delegate.
My wife, Rosalyn, and I arrived by train from Valencia on the high speed AVE train, a very comfortable experience. One stop on the underground and we were in Plaza Catalunya. The Hotel Catalonia Ramblas was to be our home for three nights.
Thursday evening was spent renewing old acquaintances and for Rosalyn and myself as a new delegate, making new ones over dinner and in the bar afterwards.
Friday morning, the AGM started with 13 countries attending. For the first time, all member associations had sent representatives. The President, Mr Flemming Christensen, of Denmark remarked on this historical fact in his opening introduction, when he warmly welcomed everyone and especially the new faces who were participating in EFFA's AGM for the first time. A special welcome was given to Director, Mrs Yasmina Belabbas, and Vice President, Dr Mohamed Tebbal, of the 'Federation Equestre Algerienne' from Algeria who were observing the meeting. Flemming also thanked the organising team of the Catalonian Farrier Association, especially Roger Soler-Pont, for the 'great preparation without which this congress and AGM would not have taken place'.
In his report, Flemming remarked on the past year, his first as President, and was pleased to say how the Board had achieved all its goals. Communication, he said, could be a challenge with the distances involved, but e-mail was working out well.
The Treasurer’s report showed a deficit of 484.30 euro’s for the year. This was partly due to the loss of the UK membership subscription. BFBA had stopped funding Certified Euro-Farrier status for individual members because of financial constraints, hoping that British farriers would join individually. Embarrassingly, only 29 farriers did so, making the British representation one of the smallest in Europe. Gary Burton, the BFBA President, stood up to confirm that the decision had been purely a financial one, with no malicious intent, which had since put the BFBA in a stronger position. To promote the EFFA Certified Euro-farrier, the Board thought that a new financial system for registration would be helpful. It was agreed that associations could pay a reducing level of fees for larger memberships, with a maximum annual payment. This represented a considerable saving for BFBA, so Mr Burton was able to support this proposal and the BFBA could include EFFA Certified Euro-Farrier status in its membership package once again.
Registrar, Mr Miles Williamson-Noble reported that the Accreditation Board had visited Ireland to view its training process. As a conclusion, the board recommended the approval of the Irish training and examination process (as approved by the Irish Farriery Authority) as meeting the EFFA standard. Next year, he said, a visit to Norway was scheduled to take place. Mr Williamson-Noble also informed the delegates of a report on the Eurofarrier website about the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications.
Due to the fact that farriery is not even mentioned in the EU-Directive, farriery associations have a difficult job in front of them. Not only do they have to ensure farriery is a profession mentioned by name, but they also have to contend with the fact that people with at least six years' practical experience can ask for mutual recognition. Farriery needs to be presented from the aspect of horse welfare as has been done in the UK, the Czech Republic and France. This is not a simple solution, as some Farrier associations come under the Metalworkers Union, which doesn’t relate to horse welfare, but are unable to leave without losing the union's support and funding for education.

EFFA events
The EFFA Education event was held in Switzerland this year, but only five nations sent apprentices and managers. David Gulley took the British team this year to a successful conclusion, but the underlying message is one of education and the event was covered by the message, 'Look at what you are doing'. The President asked that member associations try to send a team to the event at Herning, Denmark, this year. The European Championships will be held in Austria in 2012 and in the UK in 2014. This is a horseshoeing and shoemaking competition that is open to EFFA members.
The UK delegates, with Denis Leveillard of France, were asked to help Aksel Vibe of Norway who is writing a set of competition rules to standardise the judging process. These rules will be used at EFFA competitions but will be available for anyone to use.
Michael Weishaupt, the manager of The Leonardo Da Vinci Project gave a presentation. The English version should be ready in November 2012, when translation and all checks will be completed. BFBA have been asked to help with proofreading the German/English translation.

Officers
Andreas Furgler stepped down as Secretary, and Miles Williamson-Noble was elected to take over the post for the 2012/14 period. Klaus Maurer of Germany stood down as the Board representative for Education; Siegfried Dauner of Switzerland will be taking on the role.
Full details of all the topics covered at the AGM.can be found on EFFA's website, www.eurofarrier.org

Social events
The evening included a group walk to a restaurant through the bustling crowds of Barcelona. We managed to lose Miles and had to cross paths with a marching crowd of demonstrators complete with police escort. It was some time before he was found and we could relax at an enjoyable dinner. Afterwards the evening was free. Barcelona has the dubious title of being a pickpocket’s paradise and I had been telling everyone to be careful with their valuables, so it was with some embarrassment that as we walked along a back street we were approached by two guys who wanted to dance with me. Once shaken off I realised that my wallet was gone. They were slick, but obviously were not expecting a fast approaching angry farrier demanding his wallet back and just stood there while I took my money back.
Saturday was the social day of the weekend and usually would be a cultural visit of an equine form, but as we were in Barcelona, the Catalan farriers organised a treasure hunt of the city. Each team was given a quiz book and had to find unusual objects as we went marching around the city. Barcelona is rich in history, with fabulous architecture. All the teams met up in a Tapas restaurant and had a superb Catalan lunch and I am proud to report that our team won with the finding of a one peseta coin and yesterday’s newspaper. Great fun was had by all, and a round of applause showed our appreciation to Roger and his team.
Evening dinner rounded off the weekend, with awards to retiring delegates, including our own David Gulley. David, after many years work on the board including a term as President, was standing down. He leaves big boots for me to fill, such is the high regard with which he is held in across Europe.