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Brianna Walker

From Africa to Florida: This Walla Walla CC Graduate isn't Horsing Around

“My mother's to blame,” laughs Anthony Paul as he talks about his career as a farrier. “she was a professional rider and riding instructor in South Africa. “Every time the farrier would come by the farm in his ¼ ton pickup, I'd ogle at his 'magical oven.' I was probably around 9 or 10, and I'd watch awestruck as he'd shape a pre-stamped shoe to fit the horse's foot. I hung around so much, I'm sure I was a menace. One day he said 'Hey kid, why don't you give me a hand.' After that, he'd only come when I was around. We moved around a bit—Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe—and during that time my mom sold her professional riding horses and started a collection of 'sick, lame and lazies' that she eventually started using as therapy riding for injured kids. It was no longer cost effective to bring in a farrier. It was at this point, I became the farrier for her horses—pretending to know what I was doing.” In 2012, Anthony got the opportunity to work maintenance at a summer camp in Sisters Oregon. Not long into his first summer, other staff members noticed that Anthony knew his way around the horses, and before long, he was working in the horse corral. Soon he met the camp's horse shoer—a retired racetrack farrier out of Portland, and before long was apprenticing under him. By the end of summer, he had become the primary farrier for the camp. “It was a great summer,” Anthony smiles, “I trimmed hooves, made more money than I'd anticipated working maintenance, and in my days off I'd fly fish. Shoeing can be quite a financially successful profession— but it's it's not for everyone. It's very physically demanding, and you have to be a little funny in the head to keep at it,” he says in his African accent. Anthony returned to Africa that winter, but he was back again at camp the following year. This was his routine for a couple years, all the while saving up money for college. He started school in Nebraska as pre-med. One quarter in, and he wasn't satisfied. The horses were calling to him. It took some time and paperwork, but eventually he got his Visa transferred to a different college—and made the drive to the Walla Walla valley to attend the farrier program at the local Community College. “Jeff Engler was the instructor. He was from Lewiston, Idaho, and was a legend with an eye-patch. Davy Jones was the assistant instructor. He had a prosthetic arm from a baling accident. Those two guys shouted and cussed at 14 students in what was the best farrier program in the U.S— maybe the world. I never have shod horses in a better equipped facility than that of the C.C.,” said Anthony. “The only downfall of the program, was that few people knew about it. The students came out with a wellrounded degree, because in addition to the horses, we were also required to take business classes.” In addition to an education and occupation, WWCC's farrier program also provided Anthony the opportunity to meet his future wife— although he didn't know it at the time. After graduation, Anthony began an apprenticeship in Florida with R. Barelers. They service horses in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. And Laurynn moved to California to focus on the specialized glue applications for the horses that can't be nailed. “Laurynn would fly out to Florida when horses would come in from Europe and need her specialization. It'd be $1200-1500 a horse.” It was on one of those trips that they reconnected.  “Four weeks later we realized we could make a great partnership. Women are unusual in this industry, but her ability exceeds mine in those specialty areas.” Soon they were taking care of 135 horses between the two of them, in addition to the 180 that Anthony was already doing, and the international horses that Laurynn was servicing. “We worked so well together, so fluidly, we hardly ever had to break our stride. But it wasn't until someone asked me how long we'd been married, that I realized she really was wife-material.” He proposed at Hell's Gate National Park, in Africa, and they got married in November of 2018, in Canby, Oregon. “Having a good partner has what has been our success both in business and marriage,” Anthony says. “She can hang with the guys and hold her own—then she can put on a dress and be my wife.” Anthony and Laurynn are currently based out of Florida, but they travel the world to shoe racing horses, what Anthony calls “the Rolex of the horses.” On a regular day, they will each shoe 5 or 6 horses. “This can be dangerous work at times, you want your partner/apprentice to always be vigilant and thinking 3 steps ahead. We are working on athletes after all,” Anthony says solemnly. “These horses are line bred, mainly from Europe, refined to jump competitively. Sometimes they are so high strung, they have to be mildly sedated to be shod.” Three of Laurynn's horse clients this year went to the Florida State Championships, and several of Anthony's raced in the Paris Olympics. “Often we will go along to make or fit shoes as needed during the races, but if the farrier isn't going along, you have to make extra sets of shoes for each horse,” explains Anthony. “There is not a one size fits all approach to showing a jumping horse. Each individual hoof is different and may have completely different shoes that the other three. One toe may be floated, or given traction, and perhaps racing slicks are put on the front. In addition to the type of shoe, it could be made out of different material also: carbon fiber, titanium—there are hundreds of types of shoes. People have been making shoes for shoes for horses since Roman times. When the wear exceeds the growth, horses can go lame.” Playing in that 'magic oven,' blacksmithing new shoes or readjusting old ones, is a dream come true for Anthony. “Putting them in the forge, straightening them out, re-using them—its very satisfying. I love the art form of the forge and anvil. Several of our horse clients raced/jumped in the Tokyo Olympics and I saved all their old shoes and blacksmithed a sword from them.” Anthony says he started shoeing out of the back of an old Bronco and now he and Laurynn have rigs in Texas, New Jersey, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan. They see most of their clients every 3-4 weeks. “We are very proud of becoming respected members of our community,” smiles Anthony, “Seeing a lame horse, and having the ability to support him and help him walk better is one of the best perks of this job.” Most of the horses that Laurynn and Anthony shoe for however, are far from lame. Instead these professional horses have air conditioned stalls, traveling passports, and are flown around the world for their races. “I don't see this being our long term plan,” Anthony says. “The average career for a farrier is 5-10 years. After this, I am not sure what we'll do. Maybe end up in Texas? Maybe start our own collection of 'sick, lame and lazies,'?” But for now, they are living out a dream that started (for Anthony) in a village in South Africa watching in childlike awe at the 'magic' of a forge and anvil.









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