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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
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Meet the farrier to the Queen. She also gave him toffees.
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| By appointment. Farrier to the
Queen. |
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By Royal Appointment. That’s
what it should say on Bobby Craig’s van. But,
shy, quiet, reserved, Scottish-born farrier that he
is, he doesn’t like talking about the time he shod
horses not only for the Queen but also for Prince Philip
and Prince Charles as well. Not to mention the Sultan of
Brunei.
The Queen.
“She’s a very nice lady,” he says. “I
was an apprentice at the time with Stuart Craig, no relation,
a very well respected farrier in Buckinghamshire. We were
working in the forge at Windsor Castle.
This little old lady walked in. She was very knowledgeable.
She really knew about horses. Mr Craig was standing there
at attention – he was a military man – talking
to her. I was just 25. I didn’t think anything about
it. I just carried on working. After she left,I said to Mr
Craig, So who was that then?
He said, That was the Queen.
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“Another time, also at Windsor,
we were shoeing the horses for the Trooping the Colour. She came
into the forge again. This time she gave all the horses a toffee. I
said as she went out, She didn’t offer us one then. She
turned round and came back in again. She came up to me
and said, Would you care for a toffee? I said, Yes, please. I
took one and ate it.” |
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Prince Philip.
“We did all his horses for his driving. He used to
come in and see us as well. He was very friendly. A nice
bloke. He had what you would call a dry sense of humour.”
Prince Charles.
“He was very nice. Very pleasant. We looked after his
polo ponies. He would also come in and speak to us.”
The Sultan of Brunei.
“He has 15 polo ponies. For five-years we looked after
them. Everything at his yard was just perfect. It couldn’t
have been any better.”
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Lady Di.
“We only saw her at polo matches. She was always surrounded
by security. She never came anywhere near us. Never chatted to
us.” |
Today Bobby, who was born in just outside Glasgow - He’s
a member of the Craig clan and entitled to wear the Lindsy
tartan – leads a completely different life. But is
still as dedicated to horses as he was during his time with
Royal family
Surprisingly, however, he does not come from a horsey
family.
“My father worked in a steel mill. My mother was
an insurance agent. I only got involved with horses because
of my ex-girl friend.
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“I was working in hotels in
Glasgow. I was a restaurant manager and a chef. I was the
youngest restaurant manager in the Charles Forte group when I
was 21. I also worked for the Reo Stakis Group,
a Scottish based group which was famous because they were known
as the first Scottish hotel group to put carpets in their pubs
in Glasgow. As a chef,I was pre-Gordon Ramsey.
“It was then that I met my girl friend. I
was working at the Dunblane Hydro. She was a part-time student.
She was working at the hotel as a part-time waitress.
“I had no lessons. But we went out riding together. The
first horseI rode was called, I think, Scotty.
“One evening after work we went to this yard,
run by a dealer. I was still in my hotel uniform.. The dealer
had bought four horses. They had taken three horses off the lorry.
But the forth one was still there. Nobody could do anything with
him. He had already punched a hole in the side of the lorry.
“I just walked up into the lorry, slapped the horse on
the backside and lead him out. It was amazing.
“The owner of the yard said to me, You should be a farrier.
I didn’t know what a farrier was. I then spoke to a couple
of farriers. One of them said to me, If you become a farrier
you will lose everything, your job, your girl friend, your sports
car. One day everybody will think you are the best person in
the whole world, the next day they will think you are the worst. |
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“I didn’t take any notice. I decided to go for
it.
“I left my job in the hotels. I took an apprenticeship
with Mr Craig.
The farrier I spoke to was right.
“I lost my job. I lost my sports car. I lost my; girl
friend. But I didn’t care. It was what I wanted to
do.”
His apprenticeship over, Bobby decided to spend nine-months
touring the world.
“I went to South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia
and New Zealand. “
Back in the UK in 2003, he decided to set up on his own.
He formed Bobby Graig, Farrier.
Within 48 hours he was in business.
“I was amazed. A total stranger saw my van and called
my number. She had a very large cob. It was very heavy. It
leant on you. Nobody wanted to shoe it. I sorted it out.
I was young, fit, strong, very healthy. I also knew what
I was doing.
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“After about a year, business
was booming. My reputation was spreading. Clients were recommending
me to more and more other clients. I had lots of clients all
over West Sussex.”
One of Bobby’s most important clients is the Sussex
Horse Rescue Trust. |
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“They had a veterinary problem with one of their horses,
a big cob. It had laminitis. They saw an article about me
in the Sussex Gazette, which was all about a new plastic
egg bar shoe, which, I remember, was all bright green and
yellow. It was expensive. But compared to the usual standard
steel shoe, it was less pressure for the horse.”
Today Bobby not only looks after the Sussex
Horse Rescue Trust but also a long list of clients
all over both East and West Sussex.
“In the old days,” he says, “it was virtually
the same for every horse. Not any more. We use aluminium
shoes, titanium shoes, plastic shoes, thermal-plastic shoes.
Whatever the horse requires.
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“More and more owners are also becoming aware of the shoeing
requirements for their horse. Years ago owners would allow the
farrier to get on with it. Today some owners turn up with bundles
of papers telling you what they’ve found on the internet
and what they think their horse requires. Some of them even know
all the words off by heart.
“Most people, however, are still willing to listen to
their farrier. In the past, perhaps, we were seen as juniors
to the vets. Today we’re seen as more partners to the vets.
In certain circumstances, some vets will even say, Get the farrier.
That didn’t happen years ago. Vets were seen as gentlemen.
Farriers were lurking somewhere in the background. Now we’re
more partners in doing the best we can for the horse.
“Shoeing has also moved on. In the past, in many cases,
it was the one solution fits all. Now it’s more find the
solution for each individual horse. The technology has also moved
on. Now, for example, you can actually take X-rays in the stable.
Years ago that wasn’t possible.”
But there must be some drawbacks to being a farrier.
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“Oh sure,” he says. “I’ve been kicked
over the top of a stable door. I cant remember much about
it . But I went to see this horse. It had been given a shot
to calm it down. As I shut the stable door, however, it spooked.
It took me over the top of the door. I woke up in the yard
and my boss was saying to me, Are you going to go in there
and shoe the horse or are you going to lay around here all
day?
“I also remember once I turned up in a yard in Surrey.
The woman said to me, The horse is in the field. In the field!
I had to walk 4 1/2 miles before I found the horse in the
field. I said to her afterwards, it would be nice if next
time the horse was in the yard. She didn’t think so.
I never went back there again.”
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So does Bobby Craig regret giving up the world of hotels and
smart restaurants for the world of a farrier?
“Not at all,” he says. “Now every day
I want to go to work. I can see Arundel Castle. I can see the
countryside. Every day, every hour, there is something different.
“Horses are great. I’ve never had a horse ring me
up on Boxing Day and say it needs shoeing.
“Every day is a challenge. Every horse is different. Whether
you’ve never shod it before or whether you’ve shod
it a million times. It’s always different.
“No. No regrets. This is the life
for me.”
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