Gisborne farrier John Hawthorne showcases craft at 150th A&P Show

The apprentice and the master. Master farrier John Hawthorne (right) and son Sam will represent the pride of New Zealand at the Australian National Farrier Apprentice Competition this month. Photo / Rebecca Williams

• John Hawthorne, a master farrier, is passing his skills to a new generation, including his son Sam.
• Hawthorne will showcase laid-back at Gisborne’s 150th Anniversary A&P Show in October.
• The Hawthornes will compete in the Australian National Farrier Apprentice Competition this month.

Amid the rhythmic clang of hammer on steel and hiss of hot metal meeting water, Gisborne’s John Hawthorne is keeping an ancient trade alive.

For nearly three decades, he’s been shaping steel and shoeing horses — a master of the age-old craft of farriery.

Now, he’s passing that knowledge down to a new generation, including his son Sam.

And he’s helping bring the visual drama, artistry and skill of farriery to the public eye at Gisborne’s 150th Anniversary A&P Show in October.

“The public will love watching this event,” Hawthorne says. “We will have farriers from all over the country competing; sledgehammers going, big steel and big clouds of smoke as they battle for first place.”

From his forge workshop in Ngatapa, Hawthorne reflects on a career that began with a laid-back start in 1997.

“I said I’d give it three months and I’ve been here ever since.”

His introduction to farriery was shaped by Dick Parsons of Ormond. The two families met by chance when Hawthorne’s family, from Hawke’s Bay, was billeted with the Parsons during a BMX event in the 1980s.

Years later, Hawthorne, looking for a new direction, took up an apprenticeship with Parsons.

It set him on a path that led to mentorship under other skilled farriers like Jordaan Aplin and Pat Schimanski.

John Hawthorne, 47, has been a farrier for nearly three decades. Photo / Rebecca Williams

“Learning is by doing,” Hawthorne says, who still prefers to make many of his own tools by hand.

“You can buy the tools of the trade, but like many farriers, I’d rather make them.”

Hawthorne looks after about 200 horses across the Gisborne East Coast region.

He shoes horses for dressage, polo, showjumping and farm work.

A typical shoeing takes about 50 minutes and the work is physically demanding.

“It’s bloody hard work. It tortures your body,” Hawthorne admits, rattling off a list of injuries — sore elbows and hips, and burnt hands.

“The average farm horse might be 400kg. Some of them lean on you or pull you around.”

Hawthorne wears ear protection against the sound of striking steel.

Wife Tanya says at the end of the day he smells of hoof smoke — the distinctive result of burning the sulfur-rich keratin in the hoof.

The industry is tough but rewarding, Hawthorne says.

“You have to have a willingness to learn all the skills of a blacksmith, and stock sense.

“Patience, patience, patience... and a passion to be the best you can.”

His 20-year-old son Sam is following in his father’s footsteps as an apprentice.

“A lot of people can’t do it, but we’ve always got along, and we keep our space too,” Sam says.

Twenty-year-old apprentice farrier Sam Hawthorne places bar stock into the hottest part of the fire until it glows yellow-orange. Photo / Rebecca Williams

Since 2022, Hawthorne has been president of the New Zealand Farriers Association.

The NZFA is dedicated to promoting the trade and enhancing the skills of farriers.

The association has 90 members and regularly organises clinics, seminars, and regional and national competitions.

This month, three master farriers and seven apprentices, including the Hawthornes, will represent New Zealand at the Australian National Farrier Apprentice Competition in Scone, New South Wales.

Sam will compete in three apprentice classes and the father-son duo will team up for the master apprentice class.

In October, Tairāwhiti locals will have the opportunity to watch master farriers and apprentices, including the Hawthornes, at the A&P Show.

• Hayley Redpath is a freelance writer and owner of Redpath Communications