Jeff Levy
acting as his“ gopher”.
“ Dad was a good teacher,” Jeff said.“ As I got older, he even trusted me to pump the bellows on the forge— something that probably wouldn’ t be allowed today!”
Jeff left Sefton High at 14 years and 10 months, having“ had enough of school”, to begin a formal four-year apprenticeship under his father’ s watchful eye.
“ Dad was a master of his craft and a great teacher. I’ ve passed everything I learned from him down to Daniel, who did his apprenticeship with me.”
“ I worked alongside Dad for 20 years before starting my own business in 1996. Daniel has followed the same path— training under me before launching his own business in early 2020.”
Jeff’ s father, Joe Levy, continued working until the age of 72, even while battling myelodysplasia( a form of cancer). He remains an enduring inspiration to both Jeff and Daniel.
But Jeff’ s skills go well beyond shoeing horses. He has an innate ability to diagnose hoof and leg problems and often works alongside veterinarians to pinpoint and resolve issues using his extensive experience and deep understanding of equine physiology.
Naturally, I asked Jeff— who spends six days a week with horses— whether he had any time for hobbies.
“ When I was younger, I played rugby league and even made it into the junior representative side for Canterbury- Bankstown,” he said.“ I played alongside Steve Folkes, Chris Mortimer, Geoff Robinson and Graeme Hughes.”
“ But once I started working full-time, the aches and pains two or three days into the week just weren’ t worth it.”
He turned his attention to drag racing and water-skiing— both of which he still enjoys today.
In fact, it was drag racing— and a welltimed sausage run— that led Jeff to meet his wife, Cheryl, more than 40 years ago.
“ One afternoon, Mum asked me to go down to Welch’ s Butchery in Chester Hill to buy sausages for dinner,” he recalled.
“ When I got there, the blokes behind the counter were joking around with this attractive young woman. I laughed and told her not to listen to them— they were all sex maniacs.”
“ After we made our purchases, Cheryl and I stood outside and chatted for half an hour. Since I was already into drag racing, I asked if she’ d like to come with me to Castlereagh International Dragway the following weekend.”
Cheryl, who had a lifelong interest in motor vehicles thanks to her father, a wholesale car dealer, accepted. And that day marked the beginning of their life together.
They now have two sons— Daniel, and his younger brother Joshua, a diesel mechanic— and two grandchildren.
“ You can call me a happy man,” Jeff said.“ I’ m blessed to have a loving, devoted family and to earn a living doing something I genuinely love. Every day I get to work with horses, and it brings me satisfaction.”
Well, maybe with one exception— that testosterone-fuelled Warmblood stallion!
He certainly wasn’ t a silly sausage! Jeff and Cheryl Levy pictured on their wedding day. The devoted couple met when Jeff was buying snags at the local butchery.
BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 50 // MAY 2025 7