The “Belgian Rockstar” Comes to the Congress
By Carly Williams

Philip Van der Broeck never dreamed that he would be living the life of a “rockstar,” traveling on demand from country to country.

Although Van der Broeck has not written the latest hit, nor sang with the Rolling Stones, he has started a new era of shoeing in Belgium, his home country. This young Belgian had a passion for Reining horses from an early age, and eventually began combining that passion with his talent as a farrier.

Unfortunately for Van der Broeck, the equine population in Belgium is made up largely of warmblood horses – usually not the first choice for Reining competition. Therefore, Van der Broeck had a difficult time finding farriers in Belgium that concentrated on Reining horses and could teach him the specifics.

Three years ago, Van der Broeck made the decision to come to the United States to apprentice under an accomplished Reining horse farrier. He began networking immediately and traveled to the NRHA Futurity in Oklahoma City for an interview with Jim Stewart.

Stewart immediately saw talent and potential in his young apprentice, and asked him to continue shoeing here. “He is very precise and accurate,” Stewart says of Van der Broeck. “He has developed a system and he is adamant that he always uses that specific system, and even gets upset when other people around us won’t do it his way.”

According to Van der Broeck, it is not all his fault. “I am very determined to do things the right way, but so is Jim,” Van der Broeck said with a smile.

Although the two farriers may joke with each other, it is obvious that they have a firm friendship and mutual respect. For the past three years, Van der Broeck has traveled to the United States once a month. He stays here for two weeks at a time and then travels back to his home country for two weeks. 

While in Belgium, however, Van der Broeck has little time to spend at home. He has become so well respected as a farrier that he travels throughout Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands during his two weeks at home. “I actually don’t spend much time at home when I am in Belgium,” Van der Broeck said. “I may only spend a few nights at home before I begin traveling to Germany and the Netherlands. It has really been fun. I am always either traveling in the states, or going from hotel to hotel in Germany and the Netherlands.”

Shoeing in four different countries definitely keeps the farrier busy, but he enjoys all the great Reining horses he gets to see with each trip. “I pretty much come to the United States for every major Reining event. This is a new experience for me this year, though, because this is my first trip to the Congress.”

It may be his first trip, but Van der Broeck is making the most of his Congress experience. “Coming to the United States, and coming to the Congress, has given me so many more opportunities to work on really good horses,” Van der Broeck said. “The farriers here are so much more open-minded and more willing to try new ideas to help the horses.”

Although Van der Broeck has learned to love the life of a traveler, he has strong roots at home and said it is doubtful if he will ever completely move to the United States. “He likes to travel a lot, but don’t let him fool you,” Stewart said of Van der Broeck. “He spends a lot of time with his family and his girlfriend when he is at home, and it would be really hard for him to leave that all behind.”