I wondered if I would recognize Bill Miller as I approached the small coffee shop in Rochester Washington. Passing the big front window there was no mistaking the man sitting in the window booth – that signature moustache told me I was about to meet the legend himself!
Blessed with boundless energy, Bill looks and acts much younger than the seventy-six years he’s walked on this earth. (Just try following him as he drives the back roads around his home!) Having shod for fifty-six of those years one would think that the wear and tear of shoeing would have slowed him down by now. Not Bill, even in retirement he maintains a steady client list that just won’t let him slow down. His outlook on shoeing is very simple, “Horseshoeing isn’t a job, it’s a way of life.” And that way of life was very clear to Bill from a very young age.
Originally from Illinois, Bill served our country as a Seaman on the USS New Jersey during WWII. Following the war he was very clear about his career path. When asked by the Veterans Administration how he wanted to take advantage of the G.I. Bill, he replied, “I want to be a horseshoer.” Laughing, the administrator indicated this was the first such request ever received and that Bill would have to structure his own program. During the spring of 1947 he became the first U.S. horseshoeing apprentice on the G.I. Bill. For the next three years Bill apprenticed under three different farriers and studied with Jack MacAllan at Michigan State University for “related training” required by the State of Illinois. In 1950, after passing the Illinois State licensing exam which made him a Registered Horseshoer, Bill borrowed ten dollars from his mother to buy his first set of shoeing supplies. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever paid her back the ten dollars,” mused Bill.
By 1950, at the tender age of nineteen, Bill had now experienced a world war and become a licensed horseshoer who understood the value of marketing his business. “Right out of the chute I started direct mailing postcards to horse owners which grew my client base very quickly,” said Bill.
But the fire of youth was still in Bill’s belly so he joined the Rodeo Cowboy Association and rode bulls on weekends in the Midwest. “I even won a rodeo in Michigan which earned me $35, I thought that was really something!” The fire never completely went out. At age sixty-five Bill seriously considered riding bulls in California in Senior Pro Rodeos. His bustling farrier business, however, wouldn’t permit it.
Twelve years into his professional career, in 1962, Bill became a founding member and President of the Illinois Licensed Horseshoer’s Association. The Association was formed to vigorously defend the licensing required in Illinois, keeping the standard of shoeing at a high level. State action, at that time, was attempting to grant “permits” for non-licensed shoers. Bill knew from experience that education and high standards were key to the future of the industry. As he often says in conversation, “There’s a lot more to this trade than meets the public eye. You have to be part veterinarian, part trainer, and have a lot of horse sense. This comes from education and experience.”
It was also in 1962 that Bill established Miller Horseshoer Supply in Illinois, running the business out of the Illinois Equine Hospital & Clinic from 1965 through 1977. He also served as the Clinic’s horseshoer.
Bill fondly recalls joining the Journeyman Horseshoer’s Union in 1971, shoeing Standardbreds throughout the Chicago area. His energy and enthusiasm for the Union resulted is his being elected President in 1974.
Education became an even more important part of Bill’s life when, in 1977, he was invited to teach horseshoeing at South Puget Sound Community College in Washington state. Expecting an easy transition to his new role as teacher, Bill learned on his first day that the previous instructor left no course outline, no lesson plans, and very little help from which to start his new career in education. Always up for a challenge, he plunged headlong into creating a useful experience for his first class of sixteen students. “I have always enjoyed my interactions with students. I think most sensed my passion for the life and trade. I could have done without all the bureaucrats in education though!” said Bill. Finding his niche, Bill saw his one-year contract turned into fifteen, retiring from the school in late 1991.
Bill joined the American Farrier’s Association in 1972 and was given membership number forty-eight. Today he is the second oldest active member behind Walt Taylor, who holds membership number one. “I think the AFA should put out an all-points bulletin to find member numbers two through forty-seven, newer members could sure benefit from their expertise and experience,” exclaimed Bill.
A passionate believer in the benefits of membership in the AFA, Bill said “In the early days of shoeing here in the US, what you knew stayed in your head; the AFA changed all that in the 1970’s.” Citing continuing education programs, competitions, conventions, and member-to-member networking he clearly enjoys the camaraderie within the Association.
Bill estimates there are approximately twenty-five thousand shoers across the US. He would like to see many of them become members of the AFA. “We have about three thousand members right now. With more aggressive marketing and outreach we should be able to attract more members.” He also believes in educating horse owners about the importance of regular and proper hoof care. “The last question a horse owner should ask is how much will it cost?” said Bill.
Awards and honorary posts have been bestowed on Bill throughout his career. He served as a judge at Calgary in 1980 and 1982 and judged the AFA convention in 1982. In 1995 he was inducted into the Horseshoer’s Hall of Fame and honored as one of the top twenty-five “Legends of Horseshoeing.” Bill was also voted “Educator of the Year” in 2002. And at this year’s convention in Salt Lake City, Bill was honored with the Walt Taylor Award. “I was shocked when I won the Walt Taylor Award this year; they had to push me up out of my chair to go on stage to receive it!” exclaimed Bill modestly.
Although Bill devoted himself to the craft, there has always been a life outside of shoeing. Single now, Bill enjoys his two antique cars, a 1911 Model T Ford and a 1944 Willy’s Jeep which he purchased to honor his brother killed in France in 1944 during WWII. He also loves bluegrass music.
Perhaps the most striking thing about Bill’s legendary career is the respect felt for him by his clients and peers. Debbi Tokos, a long time client in Olympia, WA said “If something ever happens to Bill I’m in trouble, he’s kept my cutting horses going for years.” A legend himself, Walt Taylor recently said “I know of few people that are so single-minded and dedicated to the common good (of farriers) as is Bill. He has never let me down. I don't know that he has ever let anybody else down either. He is a man you can always count on.”
Bill’s warm eyes, signature moustache, and boundless energy endear him to everyone he meets. And his philosophy on the shoeing life is summed up perfectly: “Shoeing a twelve year-old’s backyard pal has always been as important to me as shoeing a champion show horse.”
May we all strive for such a legendary career and life.
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