Four horseshoers and two equine veterinarians who have helped raise the level of care for horses feet have been inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame and the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame, respectively.

Nominations to the two Halls of Fame are accepted from all hoof-care professionals. The winning nominations are determined by a vote of the current members.

The new members of the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame are:

David Birdsall of Water Mill, N.Y. At age 13, Birdsall met the local blacksmith and horseshoer in the Adirondack Mountains where his family spent part of its summers. He loved the stories, the odd jobs he was given, and the learning. The seed was planted. It bloomed in 1967, when Birdsall gave up the riding ranch he and his brother ran in the Adirondacks and began horseshoeing full time on Long Island, N.Y.

More than 40 years later, Birdsall is best known for the excellence of his work with show horses and his 22 years with the prestigious Hampton Classic, although he has tended to horses in virtually all the riding disciplines. Birdsall also developed a line of hoof-care products that he markets through his company, Water Mill Products, which he runs with his wife, Sue.

Within the horseshoeing world, Birdsall is recognized for teaching and mentoring a large number of novice farriers, many of whom started their careers with clients he handed off. Those farriers helped spread the impact of his knowledge and ensure his legacy in the craft.

Michael DeLeonardo of Salinas, Calif. DeLeonardo has been a professional horseshoer for 37 years, and for the past quarter century he has owned and operated a successful, multi-farrier business. “I realized that as I got older, it would be harder to keep going at the same pace, so I looked around to find like-minded shoers who were interested in expanding,” he said.

DeLeonardo also contributes to the education of his farriers and others in the region by staging a number of seminars throughout the year to which he brings guest speakers from around the country.

The operation continues to grow and has served as a model for many in the horseshoeing industry. The business has evolved into a farriery complex that now includes a shoeing shop with a six-stall area to accommodate horses that are trucked in. The complex also houses a branch of Harry Patton Horse-Shoeing Supplies, which DeLeonardo runs with partner Ada Gates.

An active member in a number of organizations over the years, DeLeonardo currently serves as president of the Farrier Industry Association, an industry suppliers’ group. He also has served as president of the Western States Farriers’ Association and the American Farriers’ Association (AFA).

Chris Gregory of Lamar, Mo. As a young rodeo competitor in bull dogging, Gregory earned a college scholarship. He parlayed that opportunity into an associate’s degree in pre-law with a minor in military science, a bachelor’s degree in psychology and social science, and a master’s degree in human resource development.

However, people on the rodeo circuit quickly picked up on Gregory’s gift for shoeing horses, and he grabbed that bull by the horns, too. At a young age, he demonstrated a mastery of the craft usually associated with much more experienced shoers. He earned AFA certified journeyman farrier status and even the rank of Fellow with the Worshipful Company of Farriers of Great Britain, an accomplishment he still considers to be his finest.

Gregory owns and operates at the Heartland Horseshoeing School with his wife, Kelly, also an AFA certified farrier. He is a much sought-after clinician at shoeing seminars and a winner of the AFA’s Educator of the Year Award. In recent years, Gregory has conducted clinics in South Africa and Brazil. He’s also judged shoeing contests and competes in national and international events.

The Gregorys’ son, Cody, recently achieved AFA certified journeyman farrier status at the age of 15, the youngest person ever to do so. Their daughter, Jacquelyn, is an avid barrel racer and roper.

Dave Farley of Coshocton, Ohio. Farley remembers being 5 years old and having a farrier come to trim the hooves of his pony.

Farley began shoeing in earnest at 13. More than 40 years later, his successful business is divided between Wellington, Fla., and the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky. He specializes in A-Circuit hunters and jumpers.

Farley helps novice farriers, keeping a promise he made long ago “to pay my good fortune back by paying it forward.” He conducts many clinics throughout the United States and Canada and also makes educational tapes that feature a practical approach to horseshoeing.

“It’s the new wave of farriers that are the future,” he said. “They have a lot of good energy and are eager to learn. It’s so rewarding to help someone move along.” As a master craftsman and respected educator, Farley has done more than his part to raise the bar for the profession.

The new members of the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame, chosen for their “accomplishments, achievements, and contributions in advancing equine foot care,” are:

Kent Carter, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, of Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Carter grew up in a small farming community in central Utah, “where we practically grew up on horses,” he recalled. “I owe my affection for animals to my mother. She took care of them all, especially the sick ones and the babies.”

But Carter never saw a veterinarian until he went to college at Utah State University. “That’s when I started riding around with large-animal veterinarians who really stimulated my interest in veterinary medicine,” he says.

Carter went on to attend Colorado State Veterinary School, and then went into private practice in Reno, Nev. He later became board certified in internal medicine. After a two-year stint at Purdue University, Carter moved to Texas A&M in 1984, where he’s been ever since.

Carter’s career at A&M has focused on equine lameness, “where you never run out of a job,” he said.

Recognized as an inspiring educator by his peers and students, Carter also has distinguished himself for his innovative work. He’s established a first-of- its-kind instructional rotation dedicated to equine lameness at Texas A&M, which include a focus on the foot and lameness problems.

Working in conjunction with farriers for over two decades, Carter has been instrumental in helping promote a healthy relationship between the two professions.

Jay Merriam, DVM, of Massachusetts Equine Clinic, Uxbridge, Mass. Growing up on a ranch and in the rodeo rink started Merriam on the path to veterinary school at Kansas State University, and he later became a board certified equine surgeon.

Known as an “innovator and messenger of equine well-being,” Merriam was the first chairman of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Committee on Welfare of the Horse. He is regarded as a pioneer in promoting the role the foot plays in the majority of lamenesses, and he now operates a state-of-the-art referral clinic specializing in sports medicine and equine podiatry in Uxbridge, Mass.

Merriam initiated a clinical internship program linking his practice with Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. The program has become an educational model for colleges and universities throughout the country. He’s also authored a number of peer-reviewed equine lameness and podiatry articles and lectures frequently.

Merriam co-founded an international, non-profit organization, Project Samana, to assist animals in need. Merriam travels to the Dominican Republic twice a year with a team of veterinarians, technicians, students, and farriers to provide hoof care and veterinary services to the horses, mules, and donkeys that many of the inhabitants rely on for their livelihoods.