Horseshoes

horseshoes

Horseshoes is an outdoor game played by players alternating turns tossing horseshoes at stakes in the ground, which are traditionally placed 40 feet apart. Modern games use a more stylized U-shaped bar, about twice the size of an actual horseshoe.

In ancient Greece and Rome, the discus was similar in form to the modern quoit, but not in size and weight. As early as the second century B.C.E., shoes made of iron plates or rings may have been nailed on horses' feet and used by Roman camp followers in pitching games. In 1869, England set up rules to govern the game, with the distance between stakes set at 19 yards. In 1910, the first world horseshoe-pitching tournament was held in Bronson, Kansas. The Grand League of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association was founded in 1914.

Today, there are about 15,000 NHPA members, with some 6,200 in the league program. Over 15-million horseshoe enthusiasts are estimated to play in tournaments and informally in the United States and Canada.

History

The Olympic Games of the Ancient Greeks included throwing the discus, which was a circular plate of metal or stone 12 or 13 inches in diameter. Iron plates or rings for shoes may have been nailed on horses' feet in Western Asia and Eastern Europe as early as the second century B.C.E., though there is very little evidence for the nailed horseshoe prior to 600 C.E. Nonetheless, there is a theory that the camp followers of the Grecian armies, who could not afford the discus, took discarded horseshoes, set up a stake and began throwing horseshoes at it.

Horseshoes historians have been unable to discover when the game of quoits (involving the throwing of a metal or rubber ring over a set distance to land over a pin) or horseshoes was changed so that it was pitched at two stakes, but it is pretty well established that horseshoe pitching had its origin in the game of quoits and that quoits is a modification of the old Grecian game of discus throwing.

Following the Revolutionary War, it was said by England's Duke of Wellington that "the War was won by pitchers of horse hardware." In 1869, England set up rules to govern the game. The distance between the stakes was 19 yards. The player stood level with the stake and delivered his quoit with his first step. There was no weight requirement but the outside diameter could not be more than eight inches. The ground around the stake was clay and all measurements for points were taken between the nearest parts of both quoit and stake. These became the rules under which the game was played in the United States, but no tournaments were held or records kept until 1909.

The game seemed to have been a favorite among soldiers in most wars. Returning home, these soldiers interested their home folks more than ever in the game and horseshoe pitching courts were laid out in hundreds of cities, villages, and farming communities. The impetus for the National Horseshoe Pitcher's Association (NHPA) as we know it today grew out of the throwing of mule shoes in the Union Camps during the Civil War. Courts sprang up in the backyards of Union states. Rules differences arose regionally.

The first horseshoe-pitching tournament in which competition was open to the world, was held in the summer of 1910 in Bronson, Kansas. The winner was Frank Jackson. He was awarded a World Championship belt with horseshoes attached to it. At this time, Jackson had never heard of being able to hold a shoe so it would open toward the stake, but he had been practicing to find some way by holding his shoe with his finger around the heel calk so he could pitch ringers. The games were played on dirt courts on stakes two inches high above the level ground with stakes 38 feet apart. Jackson had acquired the skill of pitching a ringer over the two-inch stake and laying his second shoe on top of the stake time after time so his opponent could not keep his ringer on. Each man drew a number in this tournament and number one played number two, number three played number four, and so continued until every man had played. Then numbers were drawn again by the winners, and play continued in the same way until the last winner was declared the World Champion. Game points were 21, ringers counted five, leaners three, and close shoes one. There was no regulation shoe size or weight.

In 1911, the height of the stake was raised to six inches, with the same scoring system with the closest shoe counting one regardless of the distance form the stake. The top ringer received the count of all ringers on the stake. Games were still 21 points. One pitcher had a shoe in which the curve on one side was four inches more than on the other side. At a Topeka Tournament, Jackson used a pair of shoes he had made by a blacksmith, who bent the calks so the shoe would slide better in the sand and help him slide ringers on the stake.

The first ruling body of horseshoe pitching of which any record was found was organized in a court room of the First District Court, Kansas City, Kansas, May 16, 1914. A Constitution, By-Laws, and Rules were adopted and officers elected. The name chosen was the Grand League of the American Horseshoe Pitchers Association. The association granted Charters to local leagues in many states and their rules were accepted as standard in governing all regular horseshoe pitching tournaments. They established the rule that like values always canceled like. They raised the stake to eight inches, which met with approval of most pitchers. They established the weight of shoes so that in the 1915 Annual Tournament, no shoes were used that weighed less than two pounds, or more than two pounds, two ounces. They kept the rule that leaners counted three points, ringers five points, and no shoe more than six inches from the stake would count. Pitcher's box was three feet each side of the stake and six feet back. The pitcher could stand anywhere in the box. Stakes were 38 feet apart.

The association published a book called the Horseshoe Guide, which contained playing rules, report of the Annual Convention, officers, the Annual Tournament, and other contests. On February 26, 1919, the National League of Horseshoe and Quoit Pitchers was organized at the National Tournament in St. Petersburg, Florida, with representatives from 29 different states attending. They were given a charter under the laws of the State of Ohio, June 17, 1921.

In the 1919 Tournament, the distance from each stake was changed to 40 feet, distance that is in effect today. The eight-inch height of the stake at this time leaned one inch toward the other stake, which was three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Only 19 pitchers pitched in the Tournament. Games were 50 points. In 1920, the game rules were changed drastically. Stakes were raised to 10 inches, stakes were one inch in diameter, ringers counted three points, close shoes one point, and leaners were abolished. In 1923, the lean of the stake toward each other was changed to three inches.

The 1920 Winter and 1923 Summer World Champion, George May from Akron, Ohio, has been recognized as the father of the "open" shoe. He won the title in 1923 with a 14-1 record and a 60-ringer percentage. However, in the winter of 1909, a game was played in Florida in the sand where sometimes all four shoes would bury themselves so deep in the sand that they would all be covered out of sight. While digging out the shoes that had been pitched by Dr. F.N. Robinson from New York, and one of the pitchers who was digging out the shoes made a new discovery and said, "Doc, your shoes all come fork to." This had never been previously noticed even by the doctor himself. The other pitchers then began to question the doctor to find out how he did it, but the doctor didn't know, only that it became natural to him to release his shoe so that it fell open toward the peg with a one and a quarter turn. He had held the shoe with his first finger around the heel calk as all others did at the time. As far as is known, this was the beginning of trying to control the open shoe in pitching, now known by every good pitcher.

Teig Hogan prepares to toss horseshoe at the Our Community Place Lawn Jam in Harrisonburg, Virginia (June 28, 2008).

It was not until the late 1930s or early 1940s that the stake was raised to 12 inches, and in 1950, the stake was ruled to be between 14 and 15 inches high. The present-day rule of 40 points for an official game was changed effective January 1, 1982, the last major rule change governing play. On May 10, 1921, the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of the United States was also incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio with headquarters at Akron, Ohio. A year or two later, these two National Organizations were consolidated under the name of the latter. At the National Convention at Lake Worth, Florida, February 16, 1925, the name was changed to the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America.

Horseshoes today

It is estimated that upwards of 15 million enthusiasts enjoy pitching horseshoes in the United States and Canada in tournaments, leagues, recreation areas, and backyards. The NHPA membership totals about 15,000 with 6,200 in the league program.

This successful handicap league program allows beginners as well as seasoned players to pitch together. It is a good program for attracting new players to take their first step into organized horseshoe pitching. The NHPA strives to promote and organize the sport and to standardize the rules, equipment, and playing procedures. The top priority is to serve as a unifying agent between state associations, local clubs, unorganized groups, and individual players. Indoor courts are constantly becoming more popular. Year after year, more indoor courts are being built in the non-sunbelt areas. These courts make horseshoe pitching a year-round sport.

Besides World Tournament Awards, championship awards are given at all NHPA sanctioned tournaments, and numerous awards in many categories are given to the NHPA League program. Six classes are recognized as Championship. They are: men, women, boys, girls, senior men, and elders (70-plus-years old and pitch from 30 feet). Women and juniors also pitch from 30 feet. Senior women's classes are held when enough entries are received to support the division. Contributed by David Sullivan from the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA).

Style of game play

BOH Cup

The BOH (breadth of horseshoe) game begins with a coin toss to decide who goes first. The winner of the toss throws both horseshoes—one at a time—at the opposite stake, and then the second player throws both of their horseshoes—again, one at a time—at their end. After scoring, the next round is done in reverse order, or by throwing back at the original stake. Play continues until one player has at least 15 points at the end of a round. NHPA sanctioned games are generally played to 40 points, or a shoe limit of 40 or 50 shoes.

Official NHPA Rules

The NHPA, the recognized governing body of the sport of horseshoe pitching, maintain an up-to-date set of rules, guidelines and specifications for the game. Current rules include the following:

The game is divided into innings, each consists of four pitched shoes; two by each contestant. After all shoes for the inning have been pitched, they are either considered to be “live shoes” or “dead shoes” and may then be scored accordingly. A live shoe refers to any shoe that has been pitched in compliance with the rules of the game and that comes to rest within the pit area. A dead shoe is another term for a foul shoe that was delivered in non-compliance with one of the rules of the game. This term may also refer to a ringer that has been “cancelled” by an opponent’s ringer.

Pitching the shoe

The contestant pitching first shall deliver both shoes (one at a time) and then the other contestant shall deliver both shoes (one at a time). A contestant may deliver the shoes from either the left or right pitching platform, but in any one inning, both shoes must be delivered from the same platform. A contestant shall pitch the entire tournament with the same hand/arm, except in the case of a medical emergency (to be determined by the Tournament/League Officials).

A contestant shall deliver both shoes within thirty seconds. This time limitation shall be determined by a judge and will start when the contestant steps onto the pitching platform with the intention of pitching and is in a “set” position for the first pitch.

Scoring

In horseshoes, there are two ways to score: by throwing a "ringers" (a live shoe that comes to rest while encircling the stake), or by throwing the horseshoe nearest to the opposite stake. This scoring system gives rise to the popular expression "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." Disputes are settled by using a straightedge to touch the two points at the ends of the horseshoe, called "heel calks." If the straightedge doesn't touch the stake, then the horseshoe is a ringer.

The nearest horseshoe to the stake within six inches counts one point. If both of one player's horseshoes are closer than the opponent's, that player scores two points. A ringer scores three points. A leaner, the case where a horseshoe literally leans on the stake, in pro horseshoes counts for one point. In amateur games, a leaner usually counts for two points. In the case of one ringer and a closer horseshoe, both horseshoes are scored for a total of four points. If a player throws two ringers, that player scores six points. If each player throws a ringer, the ringers cancel and no points are scored. Such occurrences are called dead but are still used towards the pitcher/ringer average. Most games are played to 21, winner must win by two.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Boga, Steve. Horseshoes. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 1996. ISBN 978-0811724906
• Reno, Otto W. Pitching Championship Horseshoes. South Brunswick, N.J.: A.S. Barnes, 1975. ISBN 978-0498014086
• Reno, Otto. The Story of Horseshoes. New York, Vantage Press, 1963.

OCLC: 2278169

• United States. Horseshoes. Chicago: National Youth Administration of Illinois, 1939.

OCLC: 166143427

External links

• Info on Sport of Horseshoe Pitching
• Rules, National Horseshoe Pitching Association.
• How to Pitch Horseshoes, NHPA.
• TossingGames.com - A resource forum for all lawn tossing games, including horseshoes.

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