Hosts Jay Tovey and Mark Trussler interview Hereford College farriery lecturer Danny Bennett about UK farrier education, sponsorship, and how colleges rise and fall based on staff teams and management support. Danny describes his roles at Myerscough and Hereford, Hereford’s near-loss of FRC approval around 2016–17, and how Dean Bland helped rebuild admin frameworks alongside renewed senior leadership backing. They discuss teaching to the syllabus/“standard,” how exams can lag industry progress, and the four-part training landscape: colleges, ATFs, EPAOs, and apprentices. Danny outlines ATF CPD days, competitions, and “meet your next apprentice” initiatives to build relationships, plus digital revision resources. He explains Hereford’s redesigned block system (20 weeks total, more frequent shorter visits) improving student progress, and reviews Trailblazer/EPA changes, VetSkills communication limits, written exam issues, appeals, resits, and ongoing debate about shoemaking’s role in assessment.
Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey interview farrier Jeff Townsend-Berridge, known as the “Glue Guru,” about his background and expertise in glue-on shoeing. Jeff describes growing up in the New Forest around horses, early trimming experience, mentorship with Colin Smith, and how a disrupted UK apprenticeship path led him to Kentucky Horseshoeing School, where he fast-tracked through training, later worked and taught, earned his CJF, and stayed in the US for five to six years. He explains how seeing Steve Norman glue shoes on Thoroughbreds inspired him, defines direct vs indirect gluing, and discusses choosing methods based on horse type and performance needs. He covers composite shoe types, costs and stocking challenges, foot preparation and management (clean, dry, suitable environment), common failures like sole pressure and over-gluing, key products (Equilox, JMeg, Third Millennium, Hoflox, super glue), and advises staying composed when gluing goes wrong.
In Part 2 Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey interview farrier Paul Duddy about learning through mistakes, asking questions, and the value of clinics and competitions. Paul explains how competitions build confidence and skill for young farriers, shares memories from Calgary and other events (including injuries, disqualifications, speed classes, team wins, and placing top 10), and describes what good judging looks like: seeing past “bling,” prioritising fundamentals like nail fit, levelness, clips, safe trimming, and soundness, and following the judge’s specimen and feedback. He discusses his transition into teaching at CAFRE, the college’s origins as an upskilling route for largely unqualified cold shoers, and current teaching plans to make theory more practical and accessible. Paul also addresses possible Irish legislation and urges farriers to join associations, keep learning, and only enter the trade if they truly love it.
The Farriery Project hosts Jay Tovey and co-host Mark Trussler introduce guest farrier Paul, who grew up in Strabane, Northern Ireland during the Troubles and is a fifth-generation farrier who started in the forge at 11 before his father died when he was 15. Paul describes the highly competitive Irish National Stud apprenticeship in Kildare, annual training blocks in England, and qualifying via a demanding exam, then progressing through Irish competitions at the Dublin Horse Show and later realising in England he needed to raise his level. He explains how the Troubles disrupted travel and business, recounting early hardships building a practice with minimal resources, and emphasises resilience and the value of difficult standards like the diploma. Paul also discusses running, cycling injuries, a 2019 brain micro-bleed likely linked to stress, subsequent anxiety, and advocating for men’s mental health and seeking professional help.
Mark Trussler and co-host Jay Tovey welcome Fred Cox to The Farrier Project to discuss his background, training, and specialist stud-farm farriery. Raised around horses in Oxfordshire and a former youth polo player, Fred began a farrier apprenticeship in Lambourn under Gary Pickford, initially disliking race-yard work before finding his niche on stud farms. After qualifying in 2009, he worked a year as a qualified farrier for Pickford, then left to build his own business combining hot-shoeing with expanding Thoroughbred stud work, including weekly work and a regular France trip; he now works with two qualified assistants. Fred pursued further exams to become an ATF, took an AWCF prep course, failed then passed the practical, and has passed the fellowship WCF practical while planning his study, though accreditation changes currently prevent him taking apprentices. The episode focuses on Thoroughbred foal management: high-volume trimming on a four-week rota, fortnightly early assessments, handling protocols, record-keeping, trimming to the short axis early, and approaches to angular and flexural deformities using trims, acrylic extensions, cuffs, wedges, and veterinary collaboration. Fred’s tip is to know strengths and weaknesses, keep learning, and work with others.