Herefordshire College of Technology’s specialist Rural Crafts Centre, at the Holme Lacy campus, was a hive of activity on Saturday 22nd November as Blacksmiths and Farriers from all over Britain gathered to test their skills against one another in a series of shoeing competitions.

The competition is in its fifteenth year, thanks to all those who take part, support and sponsor the event, with some teams travelling from as far as Scotland, South Wales, Kent and Essex to compete. All classes were full or over subscribed, making the event one of the biggest and busiest yet.

Competitions are divided into ‘Master and Apprentice Shoemaking’, for those apprentices in their 1st and 2nd years of training, ‘Master and Apprentice Live Shoeing’, for those Apprentices in their 3rd and 4th years of training, plus Student and Apprentice Blacksmithing competitions run alongside throughout the event.