LOCAL LIFE
BLACKTOWN’ S FINEST...
A master of his trade is master farrier, Jeff Levy, pictured here tending to the needs of grateful Shetland pony, Bella, a long-time customer. by Greg Martin
Forged in Fire: The Life of Master Farrier Jeff Levy
When I was a kid, westerns dominated Australian television.
We grew up watching Rawhide, Cheyenne, Bronco, Gunsmoke, Sugarfoot, Maverick, Have Gun – Will Travel, Bonanza, Wagon Train, The Rifleman and The Lone Ranger— just to name a few.
Another standout was Fury: King of the Wild Stallions, which followed a rancher, Jim Newton, and his trusty top hand, Pete Wilkey.
The voiceover introducing each episode proudly declared,“ Pete cut his teeth on a branding iron.” Every time I heard that, I thought,“ Crikey, Pete must be one tough hombre.”
Back then, we adopted that kind of lingo, so immersed were we in the Wild West world.
I shared this memory with Master Farrier No. 125, Jeff Levy, when I asked if he had ever sustained injuries during his nearly 50-year career working with horses’ hooves.
“ I’ ve had my fair share of stitches,” Jeff said.“ Been bruised plenty of times and lost a fair bit of bark over the years— but I’ ve only had one serious injury.”
“ It happened in 2013. I’ d just finished shoeing the front feet of this massive Warmblood stallion when a stable hand walked by leading a filly.
“ The stallion got excited, reared up, and one of his front hooves smashed into my mouth, cleanly knocking out four of my upper front teeth.”
Jeff simply spat out the blood and the teeth, calmly finished the job, and only then went off to seek medical treatment— and eventually, four new‘ fangs’.
Crikey. And I thought Pete Wilkey was tough!
Now 64, Jeff is a fifth-generation farrier, proudly continuing the Levy family legacy. His son, Daniel, has followed in his footsteps, becoming the sixth generation to work in the trade.
The legacy began with Jeff’ s greatgreat-grandfather, Henry Levy, who trained as a farrier in Lancashire before migrating to Australia. Henry’ s son Martin followed suit, then Joe, Joe Jr., Jeff, and now Daniel, who trained under both his father and grandfather.
Jeff, member No. 125, his late father Joe( No. 8), and Daniel( No. 256), are all registered Master Farriers with the Master Farriers Association of NSW— a distinction Jeff wears with pride.
When you’ ve spent close to five decades successfully caring for horses’ hooves, there’ s no doubt you’ re doing something right.
Jeff’ s reputation has earned him a loyal client base throughout the Sydney Basin, particularly in Blacktown, Hawkesbury and the Hills districts. Some clients have been with him since he was first indentured to his father in 1976. But Jeff’ s experience began long before that. As a toddler, he accompanied his father on jobs, proudly
6 ISSUE 50 // MAY 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT