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PHCP Mentor Spotlight
Philip Himanka
PHCP Mentor / Member since January 2015
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in hoof care.
Sometimes people ask me where my accent comes from. Well, I don’t even know. I lived in Colorado, New Mexico, California, Spain, Mexico and Denmark. So I really don’t belong in a little box. 🙂 I’ve been around horses all my life, but full time working with them only for the last 18 years. I started riding Endurance in 2008 and to date I have 3,315 Overall miles with 70 completions including Tevis and a decade horse. Since this sport required a very well balanced hoof and there were not many options regarding hoof care in New Mexico, I started searching, reading, asking, etc. My aha moments and break through appeared in my life when I started talking with Garret Ford at the endurance rides, attending some clinics with Daisy Alexis Bicking in Pennsylvania and some years later when attending Pete Ramey’s clinics. I also attended the lectures of the International Hoofcare Summit for 8 consecutive years and got certified as an APF-I from the International Association of Professional Farriers. Also did a barefoot and mapping certification for ELPO. But all and all, the organization I have learned the most from is PHCP BY FAR! I consider myself pretty lucky having Sossity, Mario and Leslie as mentors.
 What is your favorite thing about being part of PHCP?
I’ll have to say. “One of my favorite things” Â is the people I’ve met in the organization. Kind, friendly, humble, thirsty for knowledge and professional.
Knowing what I know about the people in PHCP I feel really honored to be part of this wonderful group.
What are your interests besides all things hooves?
Besides hooves, I love to travel specially because my son Philip lives in Spain. Endurance and trail riding. I love to cook, not bake. I’m restoring a Willys Jeep from 1959, but I really don’t have a lot of time for that. My favorite topic for listening or reading is science and history.
Tell us something people may not know about you.
I was also a sailor in my young days. J/24’s, 470’s, FD’s, Hobby Cats, Windsurfing, Oceanic class. Competed in two world championships and one Nations Cup. I also surfed and got certified as a Divemaster.
