P
arker County draws many different types of people.
We’re the capital of cutting horses, we have the
sweetest peaches, and the people treat you just like
family. Who wouldn’t want to live here?
Jacob Valentic is one of those people. A registered
journeyman farrier and blacksmith, Valentic brought his
trade to Parker County. His family — wife Melissa and
their two children, Mercy and Caleb — are now residents
of the county. The move here was a long time coming,
but it started like most good things do — by accident.
“It discovered me. A friend of mine recommended it
to me and that I should go to Farrier school, but I already
had an education in another field,” Valentic explained.
“But after careful consideration and a lot of prayer, I
figured that [farriery was] something I should try.” After
12 years that happy accident has turned into a successful
career.
Before beginning his career as a farrier, Jacob had
been all over. He’d been in Nebraska, New Mexico,
Colorado, Arkansas, Oklahoma and a few other states,
but hadn’t quite settled. The path to Parker County
started in Colorado. “While I was in Colorado, welding
on a construction site, my wife was fresh out of college
and looking for a job,” he said. “She was getting really
frustrated and then she finally landed the job she wanted
at Focus on the Family, and I didn’t want to take her
[away from her] new job. I wanted to do something
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APRIL 2016
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
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