Page 19 - January 2008 The Game

Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper The Game, January 2008 19 More Than Leather And Spurs For This Pony-girl
Hector Clouthier, Executive Director of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA) ran the New York City marathon in November of 2007.
Mr. Clouthier, age 58 ran his second fastest marathon ever achieving a time of 3 hours 48 minutes and 37 seconds.
In the last 6 years he has ran
17 marathons including the Boston marathon in 2005.
In 2004, the Turners bought a seven- acre spread and put up their shingle: Wit’s End Farms: Sports Massage Therapy and Structural Alignment. At their facility they’ve treated a wide spectrum of horses, from polo ponies to thoroughbreds.
Wits End - Continued from Pg 18
The clouds of smoke that is produced from hot-shoeing doesn’t bother her, “It’s just part of the job,” Shannon says although she does admit that sometimes a horse will move and she will feel the sting of her flesh burning.
With their hands, Ann does the
ne tuning while her husband, Anthony, a six-foot tall ex-rugby player, handles the structural stuff, easing such issues as head tossing, tail wringing and hock and stifle problems. The human touch, however, goes beyond that of the ngertips. The Turners rmly believe in a holistic approach to the rehabilita- tion of horses, which involves proper work on the feet, organic feed, a proper environment and turn-out capped by a routine of body-work speci cally designed for each horse.
In 1988 Shannon would take her rst steps onto the Hastings Racetrack and a year later she had succeeded in obtaining her pony license and had gained a clientele of trainers.
Today Shannon is still the lone woman farrier at Hastings Race- track and the only farrier using the hot-shoeing technique.
Ann is by no means opposed to more conventional methods of healing horses. “I always recommend that the owner see a vet rst,” she said. “If things don’t improve from there, come and see me and I’ll give it try.”
She sought the guidance of a standardbred farrier however her lesson was short lived so it was through text books and her own determination that Shannon taught herself to shoe her own horse.
Leslie Wright, from the Fraser Valley Little Britches Rodeo Association has a lot of praise when it comes to Shannon’s work. “Shannon is our Farrier at the farm and she’s just great,” said Wright who provided the example of an injured horse at their farm which Shannon offered to help properly bandage it’s leg. “Shannon helped us with that horse for two-months and that was really great of her,” said Wright. Shannon is return- ing to the Fraser Valley Little Britches Rodeo in the spring to teach a clinic on proper bandaging techniques.
Wits End has seen a steady increase in business. This is no surprise at a time when the industrialized world
is beginning to question some of
In the early 1990’s Shannon decided to take the Farriers course offered at Kwantlen University College in Cloverdale, B.C.. It was a nine month course separated into three terms. Shannon kept her job as a pony-girl at Hastings to paid for her schooling, attended classes in the afternoons and evenings. “In those days we had more days of racing and I could afford to take the course, but now there’s not enough days of racing to make a living as a pony-girl,” said McVeigh.
the excesses of modern science
and medicine. “Green,” “Organic,” “Natural,” and “Environmentally Sound” are catchphrases of our
times. It remains to be seen in which direction the thoroughbred industry will turn. The trend towards Polytracks suggests one direction, whereas out ts like Wits End Farms may suggest another.
The Finished Hot-Shoe Photos by Jackie Humber
Today Shannon enjoys her double duties as a Pony-girl and farrier. She currently owns three
BSy Jackie Humber
hannon McVeigh learned how to ride before she could write her ABC’s. At the tender age of four, she rst
“Some very good people have come from the Kwantlen program,” said McVeigh, noting that retired Kwantlen Farrier Instructor, Hank McEwan, had recently been inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame.
graced her seat upon the saddle of her very own horse. “My sister had a horse and I got it’s foal and that was my rst horse,” said McVeigh. Her recollection from so many years ago is clear as if it were yesterday. “I even rode in my rst parade before I went to kindergarten,” she said proudly.
Gerard Laverty has been the Farrier Instructor at the University since August 2003 and he sees a large amount of students enter the program but not enough entering the industry.
Shannon was born in Langley, B.C. in 1966. Her family travelled back and forth from B.C. to Alberta. While attending High-School
in the 1980’s she got a glimpse
of what her future might hold.
“I found out about Olds College
from a person visiting our school.
In those days the schools would
bring in people to tell you about the
opportunities that were available,”
said Shannon. The idea of work-
ing in the horse industry intrigued
her young mind, but Shannon was
also aware about the stereotypes
of women in that industry. “At that
time I didn’t know of any women
in the industry, but the idea stuck
with me,” she recalled.
“Only about 30 per cent make a career in the eld. A good percentage just want the knowledge,” said Laverty with a
After graduating, she headed west to B.C. to gain work with an out tter taking people on trail rides after which she worked for a season with thoroughbreds in Alberta.
Shannon makes the form of the shoe to the exact size and shape of the horses hoof, as well as creating the clips for the shoes.
When the off-season came,
she kept her job working with
an out tter which is when her determination to become a farrier started. “The out tter told me I had to know how to tap on a shoe incase one came off in the bush. So I thought I might as well learn to shoe on my own and that’s what I did,” she said.
Her clients include trainers Frank Barroby, Barb Heads and Angie Smith, but most of her farrier work is for clients outside of the race- track. “Most of my clients are at farms and I carry on during the winter. The only difference between my summers and winters is that I’m not at Hastings in the winter,” she says.
The Kwantlen farrier course is
aimed at forging shoes and creating farriers for the industry. The tuition costs are signi cantly higher today however there are scholarships available as well as loans and grants.
geldings. Two are working ponies at Hastings and the third is a 27 year-old retiree. “They’re like my children,” she says proudly.
Farrier Shannon McVeigh hot-shoeing
Shannon at Kwantlen, he does recall hearing about her work ethic. “Shannon is a very good example of a hard working person in the farrier business,” he said.
thick Irish accent.
Although Laverty did not teach
Shannon explained that the difference between hot-shoeing and cold-shoeing is that hot-shoeing provides a tighter t. “I like hot- shoeing because I really enjoy making the shoes, but the cost of my equipment is high.” she said.
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