Glasson farrier in the spotlight during Queen's visit

A Glasson-based farrier took centre stage during the Queen's visit to the National Stud in Kildare last week. Jeremy Stanley of Lissahillen, Glasson, an examiner at the Farrier School at the stud, and well known in the showjumping world, was tasked with introducing the other farriers to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her stay, along with Lieutenant Colonel Gerry O'Gorman from the Army Equitation School. "I was five or six minutes talking to her. She seems like a very nice, genuine person. We had two horses there and she was very interested in them, more so than the people," Jeremy observed. "She just asked me about the training in the farrier school. She was quite surprised at how long it took - four years," he said, adding that Prince Philip who came after her was "very funny and a bit of a character". The British monarch unveiled a sculpture during her visit to National Stud, just outside Kildare town, and inspected some stallions during an hour and half stay on Thursday. Reflecting on the historic visit this week, the Glasson man, who was working in Kilkenny yesterday (Tuesday), having recently shod horses bound for Reims in France, said it was nice as a farrier to be thought of as a vital part of the horse world, something which seldom happens as the occupation isn't talked about much. "It was nice to be important for a day," he quipped, adding that there was great excitement among his family especially among his young daughters who were over the moon by his part in the occasion. "It was brilliant for the country to have her Majesty and Barrack Obama coming. They have put Ireland on the tourist map and hopefully, it will bring people and money into the country," he enthused, adding that it was a huge honour for him to be involved. Mr Stanley, who has been a farrier for 25 years, joked that his wife was at an event at the weekend and a man came up to her to shake the hand, that shook the hand, that shook the hand of the Queen!