Sarah Coltrin is an eventer from Area IV and a farrier. Photo by Kasey Mueller and courtesy of The Hoof Blog.
Fran Jurga sent me this very cool video about Sarah Coltrin, a 20-year-old eventer and farrier from Area IV. While some farriers don’t ride and have zero aspirations to ever sit on a horse, Fran reports that a new wave of farriers are picking up the career because it provides the financial stability and flexibility needed to pursue a riding career. In Sarah’s case, she can set her own schedule and still have plenty of time to ride and compete Calypso, her 13-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred mare. Sarah currently competes at training level and hopes to move up to preliminary this year.
From Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog:
You’re about to meet confident new farrier Sarah Coltrin, proprietor of Iron Rose Forge in Schaumburg, Illinois, and an apprentice to Illinois horseshoer Alan Dryg. She is 20 years old and has been through farrier school, set up a business, found a part-time apprenticeship and passed the American Farrier’s Association certification test.
She’s done a lot in two quick years. But it’s not Sarah’s shoeing ambitions that made me pick this video out of the stack of new farrier videos this week. It’s that she comes to shoeing through riding. And she recognizes the connection between the two.
When she gets up in the morning, Sarah chooses either her schooling chaps or her shoeing apron, and gets to work.
Read more about Sarah on Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog.
