General:
Certified Journeyman Farrier
American Farriers' Association Registered Journeyman Farrier
Guild of Professional Farriers
Contributor: Professional Farrier, American Farriers' Journal, Anvil, The New Zealand Farrier


Lecturer/Clinician : Equitana USA, Hoosier Horse Fair, AFA Annual Convention, AAEP/AFA Developmental Workshops, AFA Education Committee Workshops, Purdue University Veterinary School, United States Pony Club, Farrier's Association of Washington State, Centaur Forge & Mid-East Farrier's Association, Michigan Horseshoer's Association, Indiana Farriers' Association

Columnist: Arabian Horse Interactive
Consultant : www.horseshoes.com, www.horseadvice.com

Graduate: Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School

American Farrier's Association:
Editorial Review Board: Professional Farrier
Executive Committee Member
Secretary
Board of Directors
Editor, AFA Newsletter
Member: Publications Committee, Education Committee, Public Relations Committee

Indiana Farriers' Association:
Board of Directors
Chairman, Constitution & Bylaws Committee
Public Relations Coordinator
IFA Liaison, Hoosier Horse Fair

Indiana Horse Council:
Board of Directors
Vice President
Member: Scholarship Committee, Education & Research Committee
Judge: 4-H Speech and Demonstration Contests

Non-Farrier Background:
B.S.E. (English & History), University of Central Arkansas
M.A. (English), University of Central Arkansas
A.B.D. (Rhetoric) Purdue University
Director, Developmental Writing Program, Purdue University
Assistant Director, Writing Center, Purdue University
Coordinator, Instructional Computing, School of Liberal Arts, Purdue University
Composition and Literature Instructor, University of Central Arkansas
Composition and Literature Instructor, Purdue University
Composition Instructor, Indiana University--Kokomo
Composition Instructor, IV Tech
Board Member, National Writing Centers Association
President, East Central Writing Centers Association
Publications: 20+ articles in journals such as College English and The Writing Center Journal ; essay in Henderson's Thor's Hammer: Essays on John Gardner ; essay in Wallace & Simpson's The Writing Center: New Directions; Instructor's Manual for Weiser's Basic Composition ; etc.

A brief anecdotal history:
I began shoeing my own horses while in high school; soon, I found myself shoeing for friends, then acquaintances, then strangers. After a couple of years at this, I determined that, since I was actually taking money for my services, I should attend shoeing school and get a better grasp of what it was that I was engaged in.

After attending Oklahoma State Horseshoeing School in 1977 and studying with Reggie Kester, I quickly realized that I didn't know quite so much about what I was doing, and I began to earnestly pursue the study of farriery. Back in Arkansas, I attended college, ran a fair business, and learned what I could by chasing a great farrier named Jim Linzy around the state.

As I got more involved in higher education, I had less time to devote to a horseshoeing business, but I continued to shoe part-time. More importantly, I had access to inter-library loans, which allowed me to pursue the academic and theoretical aspects of farriery. When I established Ground Control Farriery Services here in LaFayette, IN, and went back to full-time farriery in 1993, I was able to apply much of this study. In 1996, as I found myself engaged in occasional blacksmithing projects, I thought it appropriate to incorporate that aspect of my work into the business name, and Ground Control became Foxtail Forge & Farriery.