Mustad Magazine
Postmark: Calgary “Wish you were here…” “Having a great time!” “The weather’s terrible!” “I won!”
The Calgary Stampede has always been a legendary event. And in 2013, it became known for something more than rodeos and championships and cowboy hats. Those who were there will remember mud, rain, cramped quarters, a leaky tent and shoeing shoulder-to-shoulder with no room to breathe. And no one who
There’s a place called Calgary. For a week every July, it is the world
was there will ever forget it, or wish they’d stayed home.
capital of the farrier world. This is the pin on the map, the point on
Calgary had just survived the worst floods in decades. The waters
the compass. It’s the World Championship Blacksmith Competition:
rose two weeks before the Stampede was slated to open, and the
the ultimate farrier proving ground. on the giant stage of the
showgrounds were a lake. The show almost didn’t go on, until the
Calgary Stampede, “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”.
show adopted the slogan “Hell or High Water”...and plans were
Being at Calgary is a state of mind. It’s a dream come true. It’s a
back on.
lifelong goal, a world stage and the only place you want to be.
Win or lose, team or individual, sweep or hold horses, keep score
Whether it’s once in a lifetime, or year after year, farriers come to
or run errands, farriers from all nations, speaking all languages,
Calgary the way that tennis players to go Wimbledon, golfers go
and working on all levels are suddenly eyeball-to-eyeball with the
to Augusta and race drivers go to Indianapolis.
world’s most accomplished competition farriers, esteemed
Farriers have been going to Calgary during the first week in July
judges, rodeo officials, sponsors, families...and a lot of cowboys
for more than 30 years. Mustad has been there to support the
and cowgirls. In any language, with any accent, it’s a professional
farriers and the profession.
game changer, inspiration and revelation, all in one.
MUSTAD MAGAZINE is a publication of Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center on behalf of the Mustad Group. Publication, photos and contents © 2013 by DMHC. Photos by Marguerite Therrien-Paige and Sandra Mesrine. Text, layout and design by Fran Jurga. No use or duplication by any method without express written permission. Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center 5195 Scandia Trail Forest Lake, Minnesota 55025 USA www.mustad.com
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Will they ever meet across an anvil again? Farriers who came from South Africa, New Zealand, or Sweden were a long, long way from home. For Americans and Canadians, this is more familiar turf, but it’s hallowed ground, whether your feet are ankle-deep in mud or striding across the huge rodeo stage. By mixing with this tribe, you join it. Friendships and business cards and email addresses on napkins turn into Facebook friends, visitors camped on the couch, invitations to travel, and a career boost that suddenly has less to do with the intricacies of world-class shoemaking and more to do with where a career goes from here. Calgary, in the end, is not about who wins and loses, but what each and every participant makes of being there. This is their story, their postcard to you. Delta Mustad invites you to find a way to stick a pin in Calgary on your career map and make it -- and all of us -- part of your future plans. This could be your story, too.
They flew. Or drove. They got wet. They forged anyway. They nailed. They won...or lost. And then they spoke. This is their story.
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2013 World Champion Contenders Maarten Abbink Netherlands Team Libero
Christian Albergne
Chris Gregory
Maos Piepenbrink
Cody Gregory
Yoann Policard
USA
Scotland
USA Team St. Croix Forge
Thomas Barnett
Joey Hite
Steven Beane - former World Champion
Magnus Jannsin
Canada
England Team Mustad
Henrik Berger Denmark
Sarah Mary Brown Scotland
Joseph Bryan England
Jim Bryant
New Zealand
Travis Buck Canada
USA
Denmark
Rodney King New Zealand
Travis Koons
USA Team St. Croix Forge
Michael Kukkonen Denmark
Vincent Lamaille Belgium
Billy Lewis USA
Chris Madrid
Denmark France
Jim Quick USA
Matthew Randles England
Iain Ritchie Canada
Rune Roeyras Norway
Pat Schimanski New Zealand
David Smith England
Aaron Steeves Canada
Jay Tovey England
Bodie Trnka
England
USA Team St. Croix Forge
Jack Casserly
Ben Mangan
Craig Trnka - former World Champion
Andrew Casserly
England
Chad Chance USA
Devin Crerar Scotland
Mathieu Delcroix France
Douue Dokten Netherlands Team Libero
David Duckett - former World Champion USA
Yesper Eriksson Sweden Team Heller
Daniel Evensen Norway
Nigel Fennel
UK Team Mustad
Stevie Fisher
USA Team St. Croix Forge
USA
Bob Marshall - former World Champion
Arien vanDeelen
Michael Miller
David Varini 2013 World Champion
Canada USA
Robbie Miller South Africa
Grant Moon - former World Champion Wales Team Heller
Jonathan Nunn
Netherlands Team Libero
Scotland
Aksel Vibe
Norway Team Heller
Marcell Willems Netherlands Team Libero
England Team Heller
Tom Williams
Grant Nyhan
David Wilson
New Zealand
Scotland
Ed O'Shaughnessy
Josh Wilson
Denmark
Ireland Team Mustad
Scotland
William O'Shaughnessy
James Blurton, Wales Nathan Powell, Canada
England
Ireland Team Mustad
Gavin Golby
Martin Payne
England
USA
North Ireland
Judges:
WCBC Committee:
Erik Swanby (Chair) Rob Hitchner (Vice Chair) Doug Neal (Vice Chair)
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Click to watch the video.
Be There: Day One Click on the screen to play the video
! ! !
Day 1 dawned clear and hot. Some of the competitors who were unaccustomed to heat and altitude found themselves with a handicap to overcome. Before you could unpack your suitcase, the farrier competitions were underway at the city’s Heritage Park, and Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center hosted a spirited welcome dinner. A video tribute created by Darren Bazin honored late World Champion Blacksmith Richard Ellis of Wales. Stephen Fisher and Steven Beane were the first day’s winners.
The Inside Story It was the Calgary Stampede that might not have been. But neither “hell or high water” would stop it. Less than 10 days before the farrier competition began, the Calgary Stampede was underwater. Floods ravaged southern Alberta. The opening day parade wound through streets that had been underwater a few days before. The 101st Stampede adopted the slogan “Hell or High Water” as the volunteer-run event set out
have been nice if Mother Nature had cooperated, but the rains and cramped space tested the patience and personalities of farriers and horses alike before the Finals at Stampede Park. It’s enough tension to believe that you are on the path to becoming a world champion. Adding a challenge like mud under your feet and rain in your face literally put a damper on some of the contestants’ concentration. This would be an event that everyone would remember, for the rest of their lives.
to do the impossible and rebuild the showgrounds in a feat of
On the last day, the farrier events moved back to the Stampede
engineering and raw energy.
showgrounds, and things picked up. Bands played. Hundreds of
“We're Calgarians, we're going to make it work. It may look different, but the show will go on,” Calgary’s mayor said in June. That was all the farriers needed to hear. They started packing their suitcases, wrapping their tools, checking their plane tickets, and then they headed for Calgary from all corners of the globe.
competitors filled the bleachers. The rodeo stage was waiting for the new world champion, but the most demanding day of David Varini’s career lay between him and that stage. Farriers come to Calgary for a host of reasons. Some come to enhance their skill level. Some are part of a team; others are individuals. Some come to defend their reputations, others come
The veterans could hardly recognize the place. The newcomers
to establish one. Some come to signal that a new generation of a
wondered what it was like before. They all thought the rains were
Calgary veteran family is coming on. Some come to prove that
over. They were wrong.
they still can forge with the best of them. Still others come to
The farrier competition moved to a temporary home in the city’s
watch, volunteer, or support competitor friends and families.
Heritage Park, Canada’s largest living history museum. It would
Farriers face tests every day. You arrive at a stable and a horse is loose. Or a rider is down. Hot-fitting sets off a smoke alarm in the
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stable office. A dogfight breaks out or a pet lizard escapes into
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championship have an element of unpredictability? And why
“The Stampede easily could have cancelled. They did the best with what they had.” (Steven Beane)
wouldn’t farriers just roll up their sleeves and get on with it?
“Next year will be right.” (Grant Moon)
As soon as they arrived, the veterans knew that this was an
“This year was exciting because of the floods and the tremendous effort to make it happen.” (David Duckett)
in the action. You never know what might be waiting for you when you drive up a farm lane. So why wouldn’t the world
unusual year. The newcomers wondered: Was this why they’d come halfway around the world, to huddle under a dripping tent flap as the rain pelted down? By week’s end, camaraderie and a communal sense of humor triumphed as farriers moved forward or packed their tools to watch those who did. The wet and muddy Calgary is not the one that the spectators saw. True to form, the show went on and the Big Top echoed with the sound of hammers and the surging roar of forge blowers on the last day. Making the top ten gave competitors the chance to forge and shoe amidst all the trappings of a world stage. One thing about mud: it dries and brushes off. You can always buy a clean shirt at a rodeo, and when the sun finally comes out, it’s as if you’re feeling it for the first time. Along the way, you have been part of something that shouldn’t even have been possible. You’ve seen people doing impossible things, and the mud on your tool bag is your badge of honor, a souvenir of the World Championships that might not have been. But what a one it was.
“We thought the Stampede was in jeopardy. I can’t fault it, it was superb. Everybody just did their bit. It was beyond my expectations.” (Jonathan Nunn) “In that tent at Heritage Park, we could have been anywhere in the world. But when you’re in the Big Top, it’s electric. It’s something to experience, I can tell you.” (David Varini) “Of course, I’ll be back next year. Another opportunity opens for me there each year.” (Cody Gregory) “We just put our heads down and went.” (WCBC Chairman Erik Swanby) Postcard from Calgary 7
Forging Ahead: Day Two Click on the screen to play video ! ! ! What jet lag? There was no time to think about what the hour might be at home. Jesper Eriksson of Sweden won the Shoe to Foot class and Matthew Randles from England won the approval of judges James Blurton of Wales and Nathan Powell of Canada. Things were crowded under the tent, and the heat seemed to hover. But there was no place in the world that any of the competitors would rather be. No one blinked.
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Competition
is what you do every day, anyway. You compete against the traffic. You’re at war with the flies. You meet the challenge of rain and cold and sweat and mud. And then you come back a month later to do it again. Yes, all farriers are competitors. To the horses in your care, to the owners you serve, and to your friends at Mustad, you are all world champions.
Every farrier is a champion.
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“I was lucky that one of my teammates was a medical doctor. I needed him. I don’t know why I cramped up so badly—perhaps dehydration or the altitude change. It got so bad I couldn’t hold my hammer, and one time my hand clamped around my wire brush and I couldn’t let go.” (David Duckett) “I remember when Alice Johnson became the first woman to make the top ten. That was an occasion.” (Grant Moon)
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“Every farrier in Great Britain wants to go to Calgary. It’s the world title, and knowing you’ll be beside the very best in the world.” (Jonathan Nunn) Postcard from Calgary 9
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Rasping in the Rain: Day 3 click on the screen to play the video
! ! !
Huge Belgians and Percherons huddled so close under the tent that there was hardly room left for the farriers. Hammers pounded, thunder crashed. Lightning flashed. Water streamed down. Grant Moon won the Shoe to Foot (Draft) class. Those big horses were shod the way it was done in the old days: rain or shine, in the open air. By some of the best farriers in the world, including Team Heller, who won the draft class.
Know the Score Mud washes off. Shoes dry overnight. There’s still a dry shirt in
from third to fifth in a class might cost you the title. That was no
your suitcase but your mind is elsewhere. You’re more worried
longer the case: the event still allowed little opportunity for error,
how the new scoring system might work in your favor — or against
but the tiered scoring meant that you could have won all the
you — when and if you make the Top Ten.
classes at Heritage Park, earn the highest score in the top ten, but
Calgary initiated a new scoring system in 2013. “Out with the old,
still lose the title.
in with the new” meant that your goal for three days was not
Judge Jim Blurton of Wales knows the Calgary ropes. He was
winning the title of world champion, but just making the top ten.
world champion himself in 2005. He knew how important it was
Once you made the top ten, you’d compete in the Big Top, but all
to follow the new system to the letter, and give it a chance to
ten farriers started with an equal chance to build points.
prove itself. He stood beside Alberta’s own Nathan Powell, a
Scores added up, and the top ten had a few hours of glory before the scoreboard went back to zero again. If you made the top five, you didn’t know how close you were to winning the
veteran of Team Canada, who started out at Calgary as a volunteer with a broom and shovel under the Big Top, and worked his way to the top.
championship, because once again, the score went back to zero
Blurton and Powell insisted that both judges evaluate foot
and all five contenders had an equal chance to win.
preparation during the team shoeing, and that they both judge
Exciting for the spectators and the pit crews on the sidelines? Yes. Nerve-wracking for the ten, and then the five, who moved forward? Totally. Momentum didn’t exist. You could be Superman and leap a tall building with a single bound...and then turn back into Clark Kent when the bell rang for the next round. The judges paid attention to every detail and worked late into the nights. On the days at Heritage Park, they knew that their marks would determine the farriers who would go forward in the top ten. Only on the last hour of the last day would they be judging who’d hold the title. Under the old system, points accumulated throughout the event, and a mistake in what you did on the first day that dropped you 10 Postcard from Calgary
the finish,too. This resulted in a detailed scoring system, but long delays for the contestants, who grumbled that they had no choice but to wait to get their horses back in order to continue. Momentum and concentration were shattered, but this was the world championship. Everyone deserved — and had — the chance to be scored by both judges. There were two serious men in the judges’ tent. Methodical, detailed, and determined, Blurton and Powell split hairs to choose class winners. But that meant that they also eliminated losers whose work would probably be able to win almost any other event in the world. They did everything but examine the shoes under a microscope. That was their job.
2013 World Championship Results Class 20 - Forging Class 20 - Lateral Extension Front 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Fisher, Stephen Beane, Steven P. Fennell, Nigel D. Casserly, Andrew W. Varini, David J. Randles, Matthew J. Madrid, Chris B. Trnka, Craig Eriksson, Jesper Lamaille, Vincent
Class 30 - Forging Class 30 - Lateral Heel Extension 1st 2nd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Beane, Steven P. Gregory, Cody Crerar, Devin Eriksson, Jesper Varini, David J. Randles, Matthew J. Schimanski, Patrick D. Casserly, Andrew W. King, Rodney J.
Class 70 - Forging Class 70 - Tool & Fullered CW Shoe 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Class 100 - Artistic Forging Champion 1st
Eriksson, Jesper Nunn, Jonathan Fennell, Nigel D. Randles, Matthew J. Lamaille, Vincent Beane, Steven P. Madrid, Chris B. O'Shaughnessy, William W. Casserly, Andrew W.
Class 50 - Forging Class 50 - Specimen 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Randles, Matthew J. Nunn, Jonathan Delcroix, Mathieu D. Casserly, Andrew W. Berger, Henrik H. Eriksson, Jesper Quick, Jim P. Bryan, Joseph L. Moon, Grant D. Beane, Steven P.
Class 60 - Forging Class 60 - Shoe to Foot Draft 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Moon. Grant D. Randles, Matthew J. Beane, Steven P. Williams, Tom Eriksson, Jesper Policard, Yoann P. Crerar, Devin Mangan, Benjamin I. Varini, David J. O'Shaughnessy, Edward F.
Keith, James (Jim) E.
Class 101 - Artistic Forging - Pot Luck 1st
Keith, James (Jim) E.
Class 104 - Metal Art Judges Choice 1st
Keith, James (Jim) E.
Class 110 - Four-Man Team Draft Horse 1st
Class 40 - Forging Class 40 - Shoe to Foot 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Beane, Steven P. Randles, Matthew J. Fennell, Nigel D. Bryan, Joseph L. Golby, Gavin J. Ritchie, Iain B. Quick, Jim P. Brown, Sarah-Mary Moon, Grant D. Eriksson, Jesper
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Eriksson, Jesper Moon, Grant D. Vibe, Aksel A. Nunn, Jonathan Fennell, Nigel D. O'Shaughnessy, William W. O'Shaughnessy, Edward F. Beane, Steven P. Casserly, Andrew W. Casserly, Jack T. Golby, Gavin J. Randles, Matthew J. Albergne, Christian Policard, Yoann P. Delcroix, Mathieu D. Lamaille, Vincent Crerar, Devin Ritchie, Iain B. Quick, Jim P. Varini, David J.
Class 115 - Rookie Award 1st
Crerar, Devin
Class 120 - Forging Champion 1st
Randles, Matthew J.
Class 125 - Shoeing Champion 1st
Randles, Matthew J.
Class 140 - World Championship Blacksmith Competition 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Varini, David J. Randles, Matthew J. Moon, Grant D. Beane, Steven P. Nunn, Jonathan
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Click to watch the video.
Climax: Day Four’s Final Five Click on the screen to play video
! ! !
Calgary’s new scoring system was put to the test: make the Top Ten, then compete again to make the Top Five. The adrenalin would have been pumping no matter where this event was held, but this was the Calgary Stampede, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. And only one farrier would stand on that stage at the end of the day.
David Varini, 2013 World Champion David Varini can tell you where and when his passion for
from, the exposure of the Ferrie brothers on the world stage at
winning the Calgary Stampede World Championship
Calgary. “They came back and raised the standard of shoeing in
Blacksmiths Competition began.
Scotland, that’s for sure,” David commented.
“I was doing my apprenticeship and, believe it or not, I used to
But it wouldn’t be until 2004 that David could get himself across
housesit for Allan Ferrie while he’d go to Calgary to compete. Paul
the Atlantic to try to win the title. He’s been there seven times in
Robinson and I would sit at his house and watch videos of
all now. Until this year, his big memory was winning the reserve
Calgary. I’ve wanted to win it since then.”
title in 2008, while his Irish apprentice pal--and now his business
That was back in the 1990s. David Varini started an
partner--Paul Robinson won the title.
apprenticeship with Jim and Allan Ferrie’s practice in Ayrshire,
“Being second to Paul was a catalyst for me, really,” David said
Scotland while still in his teens. He witnessed, and benefited
after Calgary this year. He would go on to be European champion
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and make the trip to Calgary for six consecutive years in search of
focus? “It’s become a bit of an obsession with me – to take it one
the title. He was third in 2012 and was on the winning Four-Man
step further and win it. I feel more relief than joy at the moment,”
Team in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
he quipped.
David dedicated himself to preparing for Calgary for a quarter of
“Anybody in the top ten or fifteen could have won this year,”
each year. “I don’t do lots of competitions every year,” he said.
Varini noted. Varini puts Calgary in a totally different category
“The ones I do mean a lot to me so I put in quite a lot of prep
from any other competition. “In that tent at Heritage Park, we
time. For three months prior to Stampede, I pretty much spend
could have been anywhere in the world,” he recalled. “But when
my life between my anvil and my forge. I finish my day work and
you’re in the Big Top, it’s electric. It’s something to experience, I
then it’s practice, practice, practice.”
can tell you.”
Why did he practice so hard, why did he compete with such
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Click to watch the video.
What Makes Ca
Click on the scree You don’t see Wales and Norway on the same team everyday. Or England and Ireland. But at Calgary, the teams for the four-man draft class cross age, gender and geo-political boundaries. Every man for himself turns into all-for-one as the teams tackle giant Percheron and Belgian draft horses. Team Heller was 2013’s big winner.
Click to watch the video.
algary Different?
ens to play videos The very first World Champion at Calgary, Canada’s Bob Marshall, started a tradition when he brought his father to strike for him. The next year, Vern Hornquist from New York did the same. Now Calgary boasts brilliant young stars like Bodie Trnka and Cody Gregory who grew up playing in the arena sand. Generations are a tradition at Calgary.
Winning and Losing, Calgary Style The World Championship began with 62 fresh faces from 15 countries. Four days and ten classes later, it was narrowed to a Top Ten: one from Sweden and nine from Great Britain. It’s not just the World Champion title that is up for grabs. Scotland’s Devin Crerar was named Rookie of the Year and New Mexico’s Jim Keith swept a trio of artistic forging awards.Team Heller won the Four Man Team Draft championship presented by Anderson Ranch; the quartet was an international group made up of Jonathan Nunn of England, Grant Moon of Wales, Jesper Eriksson and Askel Vibe, both of Norway. “It takes a while to get over it. You have to be on your top form for
“Here’s something you might not notice. But six out of the top ten
Calgary. I wasn’t. David Varini really did do the best job in that last
are men over 40. Even though I have been shoeing since I was 18, I
round.” (Steven Beane)
didn’t even start competing until I was 39.” (Jonathan Nunn)
“Few people know this, but stop and think about it: Only 15 people
“I have a different outlook from the others, about competition. I
in the world have won Calgary. There’s only one world
just try to please myself. And I knew I wasn’t doing the work I
championship and this is it.” (David Duckett)
needed to win. When you’re at the top, it’s hard.” (Steven Beane)
“You’ve got to be very well prepared for Calgary. Fitness is key.
“I thought it was going well. It’s an amazing feeling. I can’t believe
The higher sea level there matters. And when it gets hot in
it. It’s a pleasure to compete against these guys. There are some top
Calgary? I can tell you, it gets very hot.” (Andrew Casserly)
guys here – serious guys.” (Matthew Randles) “You can go away beaten or you can push on.” (David Varini)
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“There were never, ever better semi-finals than this year. There was
ask for help, and psychology is a big part of it. That will be the
a band playing, even pyrotechnics. The social part was better this
coach’s job.” (David Duckett)
year than it has been in years.” (Grant Moon)
“The old Big Top is gone.What happened in it is gone, too. I’m an
“David Varini had less than four minutes to nail on and finish, at
old timer and I’ve seen it all. Seeing those bleachers packed with
the end. And he won.” (David Duckett)
people this year tells me that there is a bright future for farriery at
“Anybody in the top ten or fifteen could have won this year. It’s
the Calgary Stampede.” (David Duckett)
quite a humbling experience to get to the top. I’m sure, when
“My parents were there to watch me. I bought cowboy boots for
things settle down a little bit, I’ll be able to look at it and enjoy it
my girlfriend. I feel better about myself because I made the Top
more.” (David Varini)
Five. I practiced for two and a half months, preparing for it. I’ll
“It was really close quarters. The draft horses were packed in under
still be hungry for it next time.” (Matthew Randles)
that tent on Saturday. The heart bar class ended at 9 p.m. You know I’d
“I’ve seen the evolution, especially with the new countries. I’d like
do it all again tomorrow; what a great experience!” (Jonathan Nunn)
to see it get bigger — and better!” (Grant Moon)
“It wasn’t the mud.” (Steven Beane)
“Sarah Brown will be the first woman to win the world
The trend in the future will be for farrier competitors to have
championship. You can quote me on that.” (David Duckett)
coaches, the same as professional or Olympic athletes. You need
“Make a bar shoe in 15 minutes? You don’t hang around.” (David
it, at that level. It’s hard for independent farriers to reach out and
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World Champion: David Varini Click on the screen to play video ! ! ! And then there was one. Scotland’s David Varini covered his face with his hands as he stepped forward from the line of finalists on the stage as he heard his name. He’d been consistent and focused throughout the competition, but on that last day, in that last round, he had the chance to win it all. And win he did; David accepted his check for $10,000 from Hans Mustad and Peter Binde and went home a very happy man
Click to watch the video.