Roland's nags and nails: my first shoe-making competition
Roland's first shoe-making competition at Devon County Show has been and gone, but was Roland up to the challenge?
Roland owned a computer software business until he realised he didn't want to be stuck behind a desk for the rest of his working life. So in 2011 he started the four-year apprenticeship to become a farrier on the borders of Somerset, Devon and Dorset. He became fully qualified in 2014.
Roland's first shoe-making competition at Devon County Show has been and gone, but was Roland up to the challenge?
Roland finds the remedial side of farriery fascinating, but can't avoid being treated as a human salt lick by some of his equine clientele
Roland's training farrier has an unusual item being stored in his freezer ready for the farrier competition at Devon County Show
Farrier's apprentice Roland Thompson enjoys a short working week, but has plenty of work to do to improve his shoe-making and his photography skills
The start of the showing season has introduced Roland to another unexpected discomfort suffered by farriers around the country
Life is getting busier and busier as Kris takes a holiday and Roland adds trimming the sole and frog to his other farriery duties
Roland has decided to stick with his trusty polo shirt, despite the unseasonably warm weather, and wishes that his tools wouldn't conspire against him
Roland is back at work and is working hard on his shoemaking in preparation for his competition debut at next month's Devon County Show
With his first period of college training behind him, and his exams passed, Roland is back with his training farrier
Roland has reached the final week of his first period of college training and will be back at the coal face with his training farrier next week
Roland is finding being back in the classroom less traumatic than he thought, although his drawing skills are letting him down
Roland has returned to the classroom for the first block of his college training and finds that much has changed since he was last in a learning environment
Roland is celebrating reaching an important milestone and has been rubbing shoulders with one of the most highly regarded farriers in the UK
Roland got more than he bargained for this week when an owner taught him to think twice before patting an unknown horse on the quarters
Five weeks into his apprenticeship and Roland's enthusiasm remains unabated, fuelled in part by a constant supply of tea, coffee and biscuits
Roland is struggling to keep up with the requirements of his fellow farriers when out on the job but is still loving every minute of his new career
In week three of his apprenticeship, Roland has some fitness tips of the skiers among you and has been practising the art of shoemaking
A very tired Roland has survived week two of his apprenticeship, no thanks to a couple of horses with a sense of humour...
Our newest blogger is physically and mentally exhausted after a week of trying to get to grips with the basics of working as a farrier
Welcome to H&H's newest online diary, featuring former software company director Roland Thompson, who is retraining to become a farrier at the age of 39