What I accomplished in my life was almost impossible, but the fact that I loved horses so much, sure helped. I loved the way they looked. I loved the way they smelled. I even loved the way their feet smelled.

All odds were against me, and my father told me that fooling with horses was a waste of time. He said that I would never be worth a hill of beans.

When I started riding horses I learned very well, and I had a lot of talent. When I got my first job in Lexington, Kentucky, my boss couldn’t believe that I could ride so good, since I had only been riding races at the county fairs. I guess that is where the talent come in.

As I went on working, I would talk to people about wanting to be a blacksmith. Everyone I talked to told me the same thing. “You don’t want to be a blacksmith.”

I spent ten years learning how to shoe a horse before I went to the race track, and the extra time sure did pay off. When I first started shoeing horses at Churchill Downs, I run into a lot of horses with foot problems.

Some of the trainers doubted that I could fix their horses’ feet, so I would bet them, double or nothing, that I could. After I took several of the trainers’ money, they quit betting with me.

That was the way that I got a lot of my business. It was never easy, but there is one thing that I know for sure. I had five apprentices that I helped get started, and they all turned out to be super blacksmiths.
David Wilson