Why Test to Upgrade Your Certification???
by Stacy Trevathan
Upgrading your certification level is another great way of continuing your education and testing your skills as a farrier! Not only will it show your customers that you go above and beyond “just shoeing”, you will also find that most will appreciate you more because the bottom line is that their horses are the ones that will end up truly benefiting from your knowledge. The best reasoning behind
going to seminars, attending classes and testing to achieve higher levels of certification is that each time you will pick up on new and/or different ideas that can help out in your everyday shoeing business.
My husband, Brad Trevathan, and I came down to the BWFA Headquarters in March so Brad could brush up on his forge work and test for Journeyman II. We ordered the study guide about 3 weeks prior so he could review for the written test. Brad has been shoeing for 4 years now, and had actually been putting off testing to upgrade his certification to Journeyman II, until now. After taking the time off to do this, Brad and I are both really glad that he did. Brad said that he
learned a few more tips that will make his job a great deal easier and benefit his
customer base. Each day, while we were there, I joined Brad, along with Ralph, Desmond Fox, and the other students for their morning breakfast meetings, and then helped Ginger in the office. I just might have been the one who mailed out your membership renewal form for this year! Ginger helped me with some pointers on the office/business side of things and I’m glad to have had the time to spend with her, while I was there. I encourage everyone to take time out and visit the BWFA Headquarters. They’re all a great support and it’s nice to be able to visit with the students that are getting ready to graduate. During our visit, a nutritionist came by to speak to the students, so we joined the class and it was very informative for us. You just never know what they might have scheduled that you can take advantage of while you’re there!!
Stacy Trevathan
Barlow, Kentucky