Chantay "Chantilly Lace" Stokes

The days are speeding by, and I have been negligent in my duties to let you all know about the incredible cast of characters that have been assembled as students at Heartland Horseshoeing School this year. Please forgive my neglect. This is where I would give a good excuse if I truly had one.

The first blog for the 2018 season is about a delightful young lady I call Chantilly Lace. Her real name is Chantay Stokes, and she comes from Lenoir City, Tennessee. Her charm matches her sweet southern accent, and it has been a real pleasure teaching Chantilly Lace the art of the farrier. Her desire and passion are evident as she pushes through past the pain of bleeding blisters and the sore back of the new horseshoer.

Her love of horses began at the age of 11 when her dad started teaching her the basics of handling horses, riding, and care. He had done some horseshoeing, and she watched as he would trim and shoe. This was where the farrier seed was planted.

Throughout most of her life, Chantay has worked with animals both great and small. Although her main love in the animal kingdom is the horse. She did do a two year stint in an office, and from what I have seen over the years, there is nothing quite like that indoor time to make a horse lover love horses even more. Every chance she got she was with and on her horse. Besides horses, Chantilly Lace enjoys hiking, camping, ice-skating and drawing.

Chantilly Lace ended up at Heartland Horseshoeing School by researching women farriers on YouTube. Some of our female graduates have done some amazing stuff and it can be found with a little looking. We had not traditionally had a lot of women students, but as the farrier trade evolves with more and more female farriers, so has Heartland Horseshoeing School. In fact, we currently have more female farrier students than male farrier students. And I must say, it is a wonderful thing to see.

The farrier trade has drawn Chantilly Lace to it because of her desire to be a part of making life better for the horses that she gets to be around. By being a great horseshoer, she knows that she can be a big part of improving the life of some horses. She was able to afford farrier school through help from her step-dad, mom, and boyfriends parents. Family support for the young horseshoer sure does go a long way toward their success.

Her goals in the farrier trade are to first graduate HHS, (not a small feet, pun intended). Then pursue certification and hopefully become a Certified Farrier and Certified Journeyman Farrier. Chantilly Lace is so happy to have found a rewarding career path, or lifestyle if you will. She says that she will never quit learning about farriery and the horseshoeing trade, and I can confirm, she never will. Welcome to the craft Chantay Stokes.

Watching dissection

Donkeys

 

Trimming a front foot