British Farrier reviews AFA Certification

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Florida State Farrier’s Association AFA Certification held at Bryce Burnett’s Shop in Zolfo Springs as ten brave Candidates set out to earn a new level of AFA Certification. Rusty Jenkins CJF, served as the Examiner and Bryce Burnett CJF, Daryl Bean CJF, Dennis Dunn CJF and Doug Workman CJF were the designated Testers. The ratio of Testers to Candidates proved once again that the AFA never has a shortage of people willing to show up and help members improve their farriery skills. It was refreshing to see colleagues working in unison to present the best of our Certification program while under the scrutiny of well-known British Farrier, Judge & Competitor Stephen Newman, FWCF. Stephen crossed the Atlantic on behalf of The Farriers Registration Council to review the standards of AFA testing in consideration of continuing to offer DWCF accreditation to AFA Certified Journeyman Farriers.

On Friday, November 7th, Candidates worked on shoemaking and tooled up for the Practical Exam. During the day an informal clinic took place with Bryce Burnett demonstrating the standard required to pass the test while I explained the procedure for the test itself. I emphasized to Candidates the importance of being aware of the clock during every stage of their work, getting done within the time allowed is a requirement to passing, it is also one of the biggest challenges. I encouraged Candidates to complete each stage of the test start to finish before moving on to the next stage. Bryce, however, pointed out that sometimes you can’t get things just as you like and have to simply finish as best you can and move on because you are balancing time and quality at every moment.

The key to passing Certification, like anything else in life worth achieving is PREPAREDNESS. To try to master skills necessary for a passing grade the day before the test is too late; they are obtained by many hours in the forge, across the anvil and under hoof with the mentoring of those who have already proven they can meet the standard and pass the test.

It was very frustrating to sit and watch Candidates who do good work fail to reach the standard because of a few basic elements missing in their skill set; proper tool maintenance, finishing techniques and building sole relief into their shoes to name a few. These things are easily mastered at home and add the few points needed that cause most farriers to miss the mark.

As Mr. Newman and I watched Candidates practice from a distance, we determined that just by observing their sequence in building shoes, along with looking at their tools we could almost evaluate the resulting shoe as positioning, tools, heats and hammer blows are all clearly revealed in the finished product.

Most of the Candidates seemed to suffer from a lack of proper forging techniques in all aspects of the Practical Test. This makes the Shoe Display one of the most difficult parts of the CF Test to pass. I would urge ALL Candidates to seek out someone to help them prepare for these demanding sections of the test, including an objection evaluation of their work prior to presenting it to Examiners at a test site.

The highlight of the Written Test on Friday night was a high score of 90 earned by Miguel Rodriquez on the CJF exam.

An early start met Candidates on Saturday morning with Practical Exams. They began with CF Candidates taking their live shoeing and Journeyman Candidates in the forges with their Bar Shoes. The 2nd round of testing had CJF Candidates under horses en route to their new designations if they made the grade.

Candidate Lloyd Phillips made us all proud when he passed his Journeyman Practical. Lloyd’s personal perseverance and determination is exemplary and trait that farriers need concerning this test. We have a voluntary test with a high standard, the most meaning it has is that which we give to ourselves. Lloyd expressed that. He had taken the test five times previously only to end in disappointment. Yet Lloyd DID NOT BLAME THE TEST OR THE TESTERS, he instead used that experience to dig deeper and find the resolve to master the skills he needed to pass the test. He worked very hard to improve his skills and time management and now will join the distinguished group of AFA Certified Journeyman Farriers. Thank you Lloyd for showing us all the results of time well spent and congratulations on earning your CJF.

Mr. Newman observed the AFA testing procedures, score sheets and actual examples of scored feet compared to the score sheets themselves. At one point, Mr. Newman and I found ourselves in front of an example of Journeyman work on the table. I picked up two blank score sheets, filled one out myself and challenged Newman to the complete the other. I felt confident that Mr. Newman had a clear understanding of the AFA Standard from the time we had spent together. This was evidenced when the score sheets were totaled and compared and Mr. Newman and I scored the Journeyman Bar Shoe exactly the same. Later in the day, when the Testers scored the same Bar Shoe they too were within 2 points of ours; all agreed on the pass or fail of that particular shoe. All in all, I was most pleased to see that the standardization of AFA scores and the explanations of the AFA scoring system have become more unified.

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WEG update regarding volunteer Farriers
The WEG is in the final stages of completing their volunteer online sign-up forms and registration for the 2010 Games. All AFA members interested in volunteering will first need to fill out this online form for consideration. As soon as this system is live the AFA will alert the membership.

Be sure to check the Farrier Facts Blog regularly for more AFA updates.

With kindest regards to all, Andrew.