midwest horseshoeing school

MIDWEST HORSESHOEING SCHOOL Steve Sermersheim is now the Owner and Director of Midwest Horseshoeing School, having accepted the reins from previous owner Steve Hedges. He is an American Farrier Association Certified Journeyman Farrier with a Therapeutic Endorsement. He is an Approved AFA Examiner and conducts certifications across the nation. Steve firmly believes in the value and importance of certification and education to increase farriery knowledge and continually pushes himself to improve and learn. He seeks out any and every opportunity to gain more knowledge. He strives hard to instill this value in both his students and staff. Steve is an Associate of the Worshipful Company of Farriers, one of only ten in the United States. The WCF was founded in London, England, in 1605 and has an unparalleled, rich heritage of dedication to the welfare of the horse. The WCF has the most rigorous farriery training program in the world with a four year apprenticeship and enrollment in college farriery classes required. While American candidates do not have to fulfill the apprenticeship and university requirements, they must be a CJF to be eligible to participate in the AWCF testing. However, they undertake the same stringent practical and theory testing modules as their British counterparts including: submittal of ten handmade shoes, live shoeing and shoe building, a one-­‐hour oral assessment of modern farriery, a written paper (on anatomy, physiology and function, and farriery theory), live horse and radiography assessment, examination of the candidate’s handmade shoes, and an oral examination. Steve built an extensive base of farriery knowledge in order to achieve the AWCF designation. Steve is a Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center clinician, providing farrier education across the United States as well as internationally. He and a group of AFA farriers recently spent a week in Columbia educating and introducing its farriers to the American Farriers Association and it’s certification process. He has also conducted independent seminars for the annual meetings of the Florida Association of Equine Practioners and American Farriers’s Association in addition to several state horseshoeing associations. Steve is a published author having been sought by several professional journals to share his knowledge of farriery with their readers. His articles can be found in The Horse and Professional Farrier. He has written on a number of pertinent farriery topics including hoof cracks and the importance of building a relationship with your farrier (co-­‐
authored with Robbie Hunzicker, CJF). Steve was recently interviewed by the American Farriers Professional Journal regarding shoeing older horses and safety while shoeing. Steve works closely with a number of veterinarians across the midwest including Thomas Monfort, of Farmer City, and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinarians to develop shoeing prescriptions that work for the horse’s situation. In addition, he and partner Robbie Hunzicker, CJF, produce a line of high quality, handmade horseshoeing tools (e-­‐
head and drift punches, hoof knives, and fullers) through Hurricane Forge Tools, hurricanforge.com. Attention to detail is the driving force behind all of Hurricane Forge’s tools. Only the best steel, designs and woods are used to insure that exceptional tools are produced. He manages a multi-­‐farrier farrier practice in central Illinois and continually pushes his staff to learn, question, and practice. He occasionally provides internships for the select student who pushes him/herself to go beyond what’s taught and who has a thirst for knowledge. Steve is excited to share his expertise and experience with the students of Midwest Horseshoeing School. He drives them to learn, and excel. He expects them to challenge themselves and him to provide as much knowledge as they can absorb. Steve insures that Midwest Horseshoeing School students know what it takes to become a good farrier: a lifetime of learning, hard work, and dedication. Midwest Horsehshoeing School is fortunate to have a farrier of Steve’s caliber directing the school. Certified Journeyman Farrier Diego Almeida brings his dynamic personality and knowledge of farriery to the Midwest Horseshoeing School team. A natural born teacher, Diego is able to reach his students on a variety of levels to insure the material presented is understood. His expertise coupled with outstanding personal horseshoeing accomplishments, make him a true asset to MHS. Diego completed an intensive apprenticeship under Steve Sermersheim during which he expanded his knowledge of therapeutic and corrective shoeing. He has extensive experience building and forging a variety of horseshoes. Diego was selected as the recipient of the 2014 International Hoof Care Summit’s “Rising Star” award. A large part of the prestige associated with this award is that Diego was chosen by a panel of his peers based on the essay of another farrier that outlined why Almeida was worthy of this award. Diego is an American Farriers Association Approved Tester and is involved in certifications across the nation. He is a member of the AFA, Lincoln Land Horseshoeing Association, and Indiana Farriers Association. Almeida is a native of Brazil and has been involved in horses since he as as boy. He trained and competed in both dressage and jumping. Diego draws upon these personal experiences to assist his students with challenging horsemanship situations.