×

‘Ringer’

Club makes ‘pitch’ for more members

The Inter-Mountain photos by Beth Henry-Vance Donnie Coberly, right, of Glenmore, pitches horseshoes recently at Elkins City Park with Burton Hare Sr., of Gilman. The Elkins Horseshoe Club welcomes new members, and it meets twice a week during the summer and into late September.

ELKINS — Just about every Tuesday and Thursday evening, a group of guys can be found pitching horseshoes at Elkins City Park, sharing good-natured teasing as they tally up their points.

The Elkins Horseshoe Club is looking for new members, with no experience necessary, said Alan Yeager, president, of Glenmore.

“It is a lot of fun with some good, good people,” Yeager said on a recent Tuesday in the park, adding the club welcomes men, women and children, around ages 9 and up.

“At one time, this league was huge. We had to turn people away,” Yeaher added.

He said people are welcome to come pitch horseshoes just for the fun and fellowship, and they also are welcome to participate in tournaments.

Alan Yeager, right, of Glenmore, pitches horseshoes recently at Elkins City Park with Chuck Varney, of Elkins. Yeager is president of the Elkins Horseshoe Club, which meets twice a week during the summer and into late September.

In addition to Yeager, the club’s current regular members include Burton Hare Sr., of Gilman; his 12-year-old grandson, Ryan Hare; Donnie Coberly, of Glenmore; and Chuck Varney, of Elkins.

Although he’s the youngest in the club, Ryan Hare is a serious competitor. In fact, he’s currently ranked 12th in the world for the cadet class, which includes those under 13 years old.

This is the third year he’s been pitching horseshoes, after his grandfather encouraged him.

“I got him to start pitching with me,” Hare Sr. said. “I said, ‘You ought to try it,’ and he’s just a natural.”

Hare Sr. also got started pitching when he was a boy, and it’s something he’s always enjoyed.

“Anyone can pitch – give it a try,” Hare Sr. said. “We’re looking for members. No matter how good or how bad you are, we’re not here to make fun of you. We always say, ‘You should have seen us when we started.'”

Yeager added, “We’ve been doing it for years, and sometimes we’re still not that good.”

Players can pitch individually, as singles, or in two-person teams, as doubles. The sport involves attempting to throw a horseshoe so it will land around a metal stake surrounded by dirt, sand or clay. Scoring is based on who gets their horseshoe to land closest to the stake.

Different age levels have different distances — children pitch 20 feet away from the stake; teens, women and seniors pitch from 30 feet; and men pitch from 40 feet.

Hare Sr. said the local club follows National Horseshoe Pitchers Association guidelines, and it sponsors sanctioned tournaments throughout the summer and prior to the Mountain State Forest Festival.

He said about 90 pitchers from West Virginia take part in sanctioned NHPA tournaments, and there used to be many, many more. He hopes to get more people interested again.

Anyone who wants to try it out doesn’t have to own a set of horseshoes — the club members have some available to borrow.

Pitchers can purchase their own sets of horseshoes fairly inexpensively, he added.

“It’s a good, clean sport, and it doesn’t cost you a lot,” he said.

According to information from the NHPA, more than 15 million people enjoy pitching horseshoes in the United States and Canada, and the sport also is enjoyed all over the world.

The origin of the sport goes back to the days of the Roman Empire, when Roman soldiers pitched horseshoes that had been discarded from the horses used to drive their chariots.

More information is available by visiting www.horseshoepitching.com, or by calling Yeager at 304-704-8932 or Ware Sr. at 304-636-5280.

The local club meets from 4 to 6 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday at Elkins City Park, weather permitting, from June through September.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today