Sparks from the Smiddy: The Life of a World Champion Farrier

Softback

Sparks from the Smiddy tells the life
story of David Wilson – a 6th
generation blacksmith and world
champion farrier. It includes details
of David’s memories of annoying his
father as a child by nailing horse
shoes to the smiddy floor, his first
experience of trying to catch a horse,
the hard work he put into learning his
trade along with picking up and running
the family business. It follows the
highs and lows of his earliest
competitions through to his ultimate
win at the 1985 World Championship in
Calgary, Canada and concludes with the
tales of the travel opportunities that
his work and successes opened up to him
including meeting the Princess Royal in
1995.

Told in a humorous yet modest style and
including 60 of David’s photos, Sparks
from the Smiddy sheds light on this
previously unreported aspect of working
and shoeing horses, helping readers
understand the skills of a farrier and
giving a nostalgic look back over this
important part of rural life.

• 132 pages
• Black & white and Colour Photographs
• softback book
• 155mm x 232mm