Chris Gregory | CJF, ASF, FWCF
Who is Chris Gregory?
A professional horseshoer since 1987, Chris Gregory is one of the most trusted names in farriery and hoof-care education. Through his commitment to improve equine footcare, over 1000 students have graduated from his horseshoeing programs, many times that number have attended his clinics and lectures. Thousands of hoof-care practitioners and educators around the world have used and read his textbook, articles and guides.
Chris holds several academic degrees, including a master’s degree in human resource development, two bachelor’s degrees (with a minor) and an associate’s degree.
Chris has been an American Farrier’s Association Certified Journeyman Farrier since 1991. The AFA has recognized Chris with its Jim Linzy Outstanding Clinician Award twice, and Outstanding Farrier Educator Award three times.
As a farrier competitor, he has been a member of the American Farrier’s Team, which represents the US at the Internationals in Stoneleigh. He has competed at the World Championships Blacksmith Competition in Calgary 18 times and been in the Top Ten at that contest. He has also judged the contest at the Calgary Stampede. Through the World Champion Blacksmiths Association, Chris has finished in the Top Ten every year that he competed with them. Chris started competing in 1988, and has been in contests all over the world.
Chris earned the title of Fellow of the Worshipful Company of Farriers (FWCF) at the age of 30. The Worshipful Company of Farriers, (WCF) is a group founded in London in 1356 and regarded by many as stewards of horseshoeing’s highest standards. Around 40 farriers currently hold this distinction, five of those Americans. In 2010, the Company named Chris an examiner, becoming the first American to work as an examiner for a WCF exam. He served for 5 years until deciding to dedicate more time and attention to the FITS Exam and the Therapeutic Endorsement designation, where he is an examiner for the higher level of the AFA exams.
A sought-after educator, clinician and lecturer, Chris has appeared at farrier and equine footcare events across the United States and around the globe. He has shod horses and done clinics on 6 continents, as well as presented numerous times at the American Farrier’s Association Annual Convention and the International Hoof-Care Summit. The FITS exam was originally written by Chris for the Association of Brazilian Farriers, but was later adopted in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico, and has been administered in the US as well.
Chris’s writings have appeared in American Farriers Journal, Anvil Magazine, Rural Heritage, Loose Shoe, and Western Horseman, to name a few. In 2011, he published Gregory’s Textbook of Farriery, a 696-page book with over 3400 pictures and drawings on the art of the farrier. It has become the textbook for most of the top schools teaching the craft, and is helping farriers and horses all over the world.
In 2008 at the age of 39, Chris was inducted into the International Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame, joining nearly 120 accomplished members.
A farrier school operator since 1991, Chris and his wife Kelly opened the Heartland Horseshoeing School in 1995. Their graduates have gone on to shoe every discipline of horses and develop noteworthy practices.
Chris and Kelly Gregory are the proud parents of two children, Cody and Jacquelyn. In his free time, Chris enjoys spending time with his family, horseshoeing contests, writing, flying, and running his farm outside Lamar, Missouri.
