There is no really historical record of where and when this game originated and some believes that it may be started with the Greek or the Romans. What is known though is that the Duke of Wellington declared after the revolutionary war that the war had been won by ‘pitchers of horse hardware’. This game was played by the American army and that is where it gained popularity and the returning soldiers brought the game back to their villages, towns and cities and very soon it became quite a popular sport in USA. The earliest horseshoe rules on record were set up in 1869 to govern this game.
Initially two stakes which were 2 inches high were placed 19 yards apart and each participating player stood in line with one stake and threw a horseshoe on to the other stake. The player who got the maximum number of horseshoes to land on the stake which was called a ‘ringer’ was declared the winner. The rules varied and soon the heights of the stakes were also increased and they were made to lean inwards. The distance was increased to 40 feet and the height of the stakes to 10 inches above the ground and the angle to 3 inches. The scoring rules were also changed and 2 or more players could play and the winning score was fixed at 21. Each player throws two shoes at the opposite stake and after all the players have pitched their horseshoes the walk over to the other stake and pick up the horseshoes and start pitching at the first stake this continues till the set number of points is scored by the winner. The stakes are placed in sandboxes and some players use the sand to slide the horseshoe on to the stake.
The National Pitchers Horseshoe Association of America was formed in 1921 and the weight of the horseshoe had to be between 2 and 2 ½ ounces. Till that point players had been getting their own horseshoes made. Major horseshoe tournaments started and a good thing about this game is that even the handicaps are encouraged to join the association and play the game. Horseshoe pitching is very popular in the United States and Canada and there are a lot of local clubs that hold regular tournaments. Horseshoes is essentially an outdoor game and one can even play it in their backyards. The horseshoe court is set up by selecting a level surface and marking the spots for the stakes at a distance of 40 feet. Now dig the horseshoe pits which should be 43 to 72 inches in length and 31 to 36 inches wide. Which means that the stake should be in the exact centre of the pit that is it should be placed 3 feet from the edge of the length and 1 ½ foot from the side. A stake can be 2” thick. The pits are filled with clay or sawdust or sand and they should be in level with the ground. Foul lines can also be setup which is a foot around each pit.
The common scoring rules are that each ring that is on the stake with no side touching the stake is a ringer and scores 3 points any horseshoe leaning on the stake scores 2 points and any stake within 6 inches of the stake scores 1 point. Serious horseshoe pitching techniques were developed when this game became a tournament sport and different players adapted different techniques of throwing ringers. Horseshoe pitching has now become an art with some players and horseshoe equipment and horseshoe supplies can be got from a sports goods store or one can order and get horseshoes. Anyone can setup a horseshoe competition in their backyard and encourage the neighbors and kids to join in and hold free horseshoe games. It can become quite a lively and competitive game and the kids may manage to hold their own competitions.
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