Horseshoe History & Rules

Horseshoe History and Rules. . , There is a tradition that the camp followers of the Grecian armies took discarded horseshoes, set up a stake and began throwing horseshoes at it. Horseshoe historians have not been able to discover when the game of 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 brought the game home with them and horseshoe pitching courts were laid out in hundreds of cities, villages, and farming communities. The impetus for the 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 after the war., The Rules. 1. Each player pitches both shoes followed by the opponent. , 2. In pitching a shoe, the player may not cross the foul line., Scoring. 1. The closest shoe to the stake gets 1-Point, although it must be one horseshoe-width (measured across the outside of the open end of the shoe) from the stake, to be considered for points. , 2. Two shoes closer than any of your opponent's, you get 2-Points. , 3. Ringers are worth 3-Points each and must completely encircle the stake so the ends can be touched with a straight-edge without touching the stake. , 4. If you have the closest shoe and a ringer, it's worth 4-Points. , 5. If your opponent throws a ringer on top of yours, they Cancel and no points are scored. , 6. Leaners are worth 1-Point and are considered closer than any adjacent shoe except ringers., Lowe's of Buckhannon contributed the lumber for this project.