Iain Ritchie learned at the forge of a true master – a seventh-generation farrier who kept the Ritchie family’s horses on solid footing east of Edinburgh, Scotland.

And if Ritchie didn’t appreciate the tradition, the honour, or the pride involved in the anvil’s ring back then . . . well, he sure does now.

“This was a very well-respected farrier in Scotland. When the opportunity came up to work for him, I couldn’t really turn it down. That would have been kind of daft,” reflects Ritchie, 38, who now calls Pitt Meadows, B.C., home. “Still, I was one of the first of my friends to start work. Everyone else finished high school, some went to university, but I left early and went straight to work . . . and I was pretty slow on appreciating this trade to begin with.

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