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Show When it comes to world championships, he's a shoe-in by Nan Chalat It was high noon at the Run Down Ranch in Oakley and everyone was camped out in the shade except Shayne Carter. Despite the heat, Carter was busy stoking up his forge and setting out the tools of his trade. Nearby, a patient horse swished his tail at a fly and rested his muzzle on the hitching post. There was no rest for the current World Champion horseshoer. Summer is Shayne Carter's busy season. Carter set his anvil on a solid stump of wood and carefully selected two strips of iron. Tying on a well-worn leather apron he ambled over to measure his customer's hooves. Meanwhile a load of slow-burning slow-burning Oklahoma coal smouldered in the forge in the back of Carter's truck. Propped up on the fronteat of the truck, which serves as Carter's mobile blacksmith shop, was a bronze statue, the World Championship horseshoer's trophy which Carter won in Calgary, Alberta last week. It is the first time in the event's five-year five-year history that an American has taken home the title and Carter had brought the statue to show his father-in-law-to-be, Sparky O'Driscoll, the owner of the Run Down Ranch. While waiting for the forge to heat up he talked about how the trophy ended up in Summit County. At 23 years old Carter is just a young whippersnapper on the blacksmithing circuit but he got an early start. Growing up in Riverton, Utah Shayne used to help his father, Max Carter, who is still a full-time blacksmith. "I started handing him his tools when I was no more than knee high to a grasshopper," Carter said. He nailed his first set of shoes when he was 11 and by the time he was 13 he was a partner in his dad's business. He apprenticed with his father for ten years before moving to Snyderville. Now he has his own clients in Sandy, Draper and Park City. Because traveling from ranch to ranch already takes up too much of Carter's time, he is trying to stick to local customers. But he makes a special exception for count rv- western singer Willie Nelson, who has a ranch in Birdseye, Utah, south of Thistle Junction. In Calgary, Carter competed against 40 farriers representing nine countries. Carter was one of the youngest competitors but he had already made a name for himself the year before by finishing in seventh place and ranking as America's high point competitor. The competition was spread out over four days during the Calgary Stampede. Carter entered two to three blacksmithing events each day, accumulating points for the championship. The tasks included forging tools and building a variety of specialty horseshoes. Time limits were set for each event after which the judges examined the quality of the work. Carter said. Fortunately he was able to team up with a partner for the two toughest events. He chose Jay Sharp of Salmon, Idaho to help him forge a pair of steel fire tongs, and his brother Dave helped to make a set of draft horseshoes. Shoe-in to page A9 (DdPimitnimiiiiedl firgsmm ... Shoe-in from Al "There were a lot of spectators but I wasn't too nervous because I had a lot of practice. But toward the end I was neck and neck with a guy from Wales and the pressure was on," Carter said. Carter prevailed but after tallying up the prize money for the individual events, he figured that he had come out about even with his traveling expenses and entry fees. "Next year it will be even harder because I'll be defending my title," he said. Until then, his clients in Salt Lake and Summit Counties will give him a lot of practice. Carter, who spent his last vacation at an advanced farrier course in Salmon, Idaho, said most horses should be shod every six to eight weeks. "Most horses are neglected," he said. During the busy months from April to October, Carter hand-forges only 50 percent of the shoes he fits. But during the slower winter months he prefers to use almost all handmade hand-made shoes. Part of the reason he prefers the hand-forged shoes is that he can fit them to the horses' feet while they are still hot. "When you burn the foot you get a better seat for the shoe and a better bond to the hoof," he said. With a custom shoe Carter can also place the nail holes away from existing cracks in a hoof and can also make the shoe to fit the kind of wear it will get. To fill his spare time during the slow season, Carter builds hinges, makes his own blacksmithing tools and designs ironwork from fireplace tools to coffee tables. "When I am ready to retire I want to do ornamental blacksmithing." he said. He also dreams of having his own shop where people can bring their horses to him. Finally, Carter decided that the forge was hot enough to get down to work. He dipped the straight strips into the fire until they glowed and then started hammering with a steady rhythm. Slowly the metal began to take on a familiar curve, nail holes were punched in and the ends rounded. When Carter's expert eye judged the shape of the shoe to be just right he carried it across the corral and pressed it against the horse's hoof until the smoke stung his eyes. It was another perfect fit for the world champion horseshoer. |