It was our privilege on Friday, January 28, 2011 to listen to the first woman farrier, Ada Gates Patton.   Mrs. Patton was originally from New York, growing up in Long Island’s Locust Valley.  The family had three acres of woods and gardens.

Ada’s ancestors include her great, great, great grandfather Henry Burden, a Scottish immigrant who invented the first machine to manufacture horse shoes.  His factories stretched along the banks of the Hudson River in Troy, New York.  These shoes contributed to the Civil War success of the Union Army, and later supplied the U.S. Calvary.  Ada’s father John M. Gates was an architect who was in charge of creative design for Steuben Glass.  Her mother was Evelyn Bird Gates.  They had a family farm in upstate New York and loved horses.  Her mother rode side-saddle.   They took part in equestrian competitions at the Piping Rock Country Club (in Locust Valley, L.I., N.Y.), Hounslow (near London, U.K.), and Meadowbrook Hounds (Hempstead, L.I., N.Y.).

Given this social setting, Ada had to be a debutante.  She was also an actress and a dancer.  She modeled for Ralston Purina.  In August, 1969 she was at the Woodstock Music Festival in Bethel, New York.

Nevertheless, Ada’s love of horses led her to leave this fashionable setting and go out west to Vail, Colorado.  There she obtained a horse, but could not find a blacksmith.

In 1971, this frustrating situation led Ada to travel to Oklahoma to enroll in a horseshoeing school.  Her teacher attempted to persuade her to quit, but Ada persisted in her quest, acquiring the necessary skills and tools to become a farrier.

Returning to Colorado, this time to Montrose (in western Colorado), Ada started shoeing horses.  This activity on the part of a former debutante made her the subject of a cover story in Time Magazine, an article in People Magazine, and an inquiry in What’s My Line.  Her high tech performance included polo ponies.

Ada’s horse-racing interests eventually led her even further west, bringing her finally to California.  At Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia, she met Harry Holiday Patton, the dean of California racetrack farriers and the head of the International Union of Journeyman Horseshoers.  Harry had made it his unofficial purpose to help farriers pass the union test.  Harry became Ada’s mentor.  After rigorous training, Ada passed her test and became the first woman licensed to shoe race horses in the United States.  Ten years later, in 1988 Ada (the apprentice) and Harry (her mentor) were married.

Harry Patton had retired in 1986 and started his manufacturing and supply business, selling all kinds of shoes.  In 2000, Harry Patton passed away.  Nevertheless, under Ada’s guidance, Harry Patton’s Blacksmith Shop (farrier supplies) remains open for business at 223 West Maple Avenue, Monrovia CA 91016.

Ada was in charge of farrier liason for the 1984 Olympics whose equestrian events were held at Santa Anita.  She is also the official horseshoe inspector for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.  Because of the downhill slope as the parade proceeds from Orange Grove Boulevard onto Colorado Boulevard, the participating horses need rubber shoes to prevent skidding and maintain their balance.

In contrast, race horses generally use aluminum shoes.  Polo ponies also require a light shoe.  In nature wild horses have hard, dry feet.  As a farrier, Ada has had many horses kick and knock her down.

As Ada explained to a reluctant David Letterman, in shoeing a horse one must first get underneath the horse and place its foot between one’s knees.  One then uses a rasp to smooth the bottom of the horse’s foot.  The shoes (which must be level) are then shaped to fit the foot and secured to the foot with nails.  Bad shoeing could result in a lack of balance.  One must also keep a horse’s feet from hitting against each other during the race.  Shoeing the horse takes about one and a half hours.  Race horses are shod every 30 days.  The price is between $100 and $200 per horse.

Considering the fact that properly shod race horses can win for their owners millions of dollars, the work of skilled farriers (such as that of our speaker, who has obtained such results), seems easily worth the price.