INDEX

Horseshoes Horseshoe Q&A  [1-20]  [21-40]  [41-60]  [61-80]   [101-120]   [121-140]   [141-160]    [161-180] Chris May 11, 2004 Bellefonte PA I am a above average bowler who is trying to get better at horseshoes. When you step forward, does your left leg step straight forward, or cross in front of your body, and by how much? Do you hold the shoe horizontal through the entire swing, or do you roll the shoe vertical as the shoe swings past your leg? Sincerely, Chris Hi Chris, When taking a step while pitching a horseshoe, it is considered best to step as straight as possible toward the targeting stake. But there are many players, including world champions who step to the right or to the left. When I teach a beginner how to pitch horseshoes I recommend trying to bring the horseshoe down and then back up on the delivery so that the thumb is closest to the body with the fingers away from the body. After the arm has passed the leg on the upswing, rotate the arm the 1/ 4 turn to get the shoe horizontal. This movement will usually get the shoe to make a very natural turn without rolling the wrist to create turn. Carmen April 23, 2004 Coleman FL I would like to know how far apart to put the stakes for this game. thank you Hi Carmen, The stakes are normally 40’ apart. Here is a link to a page of the official rules for horseshoes which has very nice drawings of the dimensions of a horseshoe court and how to build one. http://www.horseshoepitching.com/rules/nhparul2.shtml The official website for the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association is www.horseshoepitching.com . There are some courts up in Wildwood if you would like to see them. The website for the Florida association is http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dome/9489/ which has directions to local club courts. Tyler March 22, 2004 Aracnum OH Dear Walter Ray, I wanted to know if you knew the dimensions for a normal size horseshoe court. I'm thinking about building one in my back yard so thats why I asked, if not thanks anyway.I'm a big fan of Walter Ray, and I watch you crush the rest of the players every week on the PBA. I came to see you at the horseshoe tourament in Greenville, OH. You did a great job there. I enjoyed watching the horseshoe tourament. That was the first time I had watched a life Horseshoe match. You got me in to it. Oh, by the way I'm a big bowling nut who bowls all the time. Thanks for your time Tyler Jobes Hi Tyler, The dimensions for a horseshoe court are 40' from stake to stake. The foul line is 3' in front of the stake. Check out this link: http://www.horseshoepitching.com/gameinfo/bldcourt.shtml . You might want to go down and meet some of the Greenville horseshoe members. They should be able to give you some personal help and guidance for your constructing a horseshoe court. Good luck and enjoy. Jerry March 2, 2004 Union City IN Walter Ray, i really enjoy seeing you come every year to Greenville, ohio for the Ringer Classic tournament. Its great seeing you pitch against Alan Frances. I wanted to ask you if there is a difference, if any between bowling against some of the best players in the world compared to playing horseshoes with some of the best in the world....Hope to see you there again this year...bye bye jerry Hi Jerry, I enjoy competing against the best players in both horseshoes and bowling. I don't pitch horseshoes as well as I used to, but I keep hoping that I will get my game back to some reasonable shape. There is a big difference in playing the top players in each sport. It is hard to explain, but a horseshoe game lasts much longer statistically and the better player wins a lot more. I actually enjoy playing a top player in horseshoes just a bit more when I am playing well. Ken February 29, 2004 Harrisburg PA I would like to meet you sometime. I respect bowling and feels in gets put down. I have autism. As for horseshoes What percentage of ringers do you have. As good as a bowler you are you have a higher percentage of ringers than strikes in bowling. I beet you you in that My strike percentage in bowling is higher than in horseshoes. though I'm not good at horseshoes I still respect it.I'm about a 200 bowler. But the main thing I do is call pins on myself and people on tv and live pros alike. My friend Jamie calls me the nuclear bomb. of bowling because I can call pins on people. 4-9 6-8 splits 10 ann 7 pins 2 10s 8 10s and so on. even solid 9s and 8s. Lots of people think I have some powers and I'm a jink. and hate when I'm there. We have names for pins too. The wash-out is now the wallachek or how to spell his name.2 pin Bryan Davis because he left that for a 299 at ABC west lanes near Harrisburg Pa. A big split is a Eric Kohl. 6-7 A lourie Holman and others too. Matt Dankman is the 5 - foot pocket hit. You may remember him in The Harrisburg area. About the aproaches or something like that. You will never see people anywhere than here in the Harrisburg area. Bowling is a great sport and I wish you or someone can help it. I hope the sport goes on and on and gets more respect.I have a story on my life on the computer. If your interested. 39 first places and 37 2nd places Thanks to Bryan Davis 299.you would have 40.Oh my friend Jamie He's a great bowler. He follows you and use to get mad at me when I called 10 pins on you and you left them. hope o here from you Best regards Ken. Hi Ken, My current ringer percentage is around 75%. At one time it was around 85% and on a good day over 90%. My strike percentage is around 55%, but on an easy pattern it is around 65-70%. Tony February 15, 2004 Nanaimo BC Canada Hi .....I was wondering if WRW would know a bit of info on Gonzales. I am bidding on a pair of classic '''Gordon Spin on's''' on ebay ..Very old, and was wondering if he new if those are the style of Gordons Jesse throws. I am a flip fanatic from BC, Rondow is the last name ....I'm good friends with Sam Tomasevic and the crew here in BC ....I am the guy wanting info on Kleist and Jesse you may remember people searching for the stuff for me ....lol. So if you can pass on the question that would be great ....And email me the answer too ..Thx and take care and wish him Good luck in bowling I am not much of a bowler but do watch him bowl like alot of horseshoe players do just cause he's a '''shoe man''' ...lol...Tony Hi Tony, I am pretty sure that the shoes that Jesse liked to use are the Gordon Spin-on shoes. He used to use them so long that the opening would get rather large. He was the best flip player I ever pitched against. I also had the honor of pitching him when he was pitching very well. Herman February 17, 2004 Schiller Park IL I am friends with jack stout and he has been helping me throw a 1 1/4 turn horseshoe, But still very inconsistent. What do you change or think about when you are inconsistent on rotation and direction? My length is no problem Hi Herman, For me, when I don't have a good follow through is when I have any kind of problems with alignment and turn. It takes a lot of practice to get the turn down plus great alignment and distance. Horseshoe pitching is a simple game, but is difficult to master like anything else. Jeff February 4, 2004 Cambridge Ontario Canada Hey Walter Ray Williams! Hows it going! I m Good and all of us up here in ontario watched you on tv this year. I am in the market to purchase horseshoes, as looking back on my year I notice with each league night and tournament i pitched in I lost 22 ringers per session and exact average by bouncing off the stake I have seen it and heard it from EVERYONE that I loose a lot sure ringers! Well with the three quarter reverse style that I have learned I pitch Gallinas/Can Am I mean they feel comfortable but they Gallina has no ringer breaker! Is the ringer breaker a big part of the shoe doing the work for the 3/4 reverse. I believe in pitching what feels good to me not pitch s shoe because Mr Jones pitches it! But is there a shoe that has a WIDE RINGER BREAKER that will catch the heel caulk and have my ringers stay when they come on the stake! Any help would be great! As the season is starting and am looking forward in making a wise inve! stment! Oh I was curious I know the PBA keeps you occupied because that IS Your PROFFESION! But does that limit you from practicing for the worlds as much as you like? Anyways Your great shooting left and right handed. Talk to ya later, A guy who admires the skill you possess in both sports JEFF REYNOLDS Hi Jeff, Alan Francis who pitches the reverse 3 / 4, does use the regular deadeye shoes. I think that the ringer breaker on the deadeye shoes does help a little with shoes bouncing off. The other thing is that most shoes that bounce off of the stake are actually a bit short. In other words they land on the shoes that are already there and then bounce off. I find that if you hit the stake first, you have a much better chance of the shoe staying on. That is one reason why Alan is so good, he almost always hits the stake first. Good luck. Chelsea December 5, 2003 Whiteville NC How Far apart do the horseshoes have to be when you are playing? Hi Chelsea, The stakes in horseshoes are normally set 40' apart. The foul lines are 37' for men, 27' for women, juniors 18 and under, elder men 70 and over, and handicapped men. There is also a new foul line for juniors who are 9 and under at 20'. There are detailed rules for horseshoes at www.horseshoepitching.com . Jeff December 2, 2003 Cambridge Ontario Canada Hey Walter Ray, hows it going, First of all I would like to wish a happy holidays to you and your family! Now to the question I came across something interesting that there was A PHA kind of like the PBA in 1971 and that they held an Ivent called the General Motors invitational that Had tweleve thousand specators over three days. and Money and a car were prizes. Now to the question did the association fold! Or did the Nhpa take it over? I believe the tournament was won by elmer Hohl ! Anways hope to hear from you ? Your horseshoe fan JEFF REYNOLDS HORSESHOE PLAYER FROM ONTARIO PS: does Jim Knisely still pitch? Hi Jeff, There were several 'professional' horseshoe tournaments in 1971. From what I heard the organization just didn't send out membership forms in the next year, so I guess the organization folded. I have played in many horseshoe tournaments over the years which have had some money, but even the larger purses in horseshoes are pretty small. Jim Knisley hasn't pitched in a tournament in a few years. I hear that he plans to get active again, but I don't know that for sure. Gene November 26, 2003 San Marcos CA Just reviewed your Q&A pages. Regarding "Jim", August 4, 2003, concerning "Ohio" shoes, I have 2 pair of 1946 "Ohios" that my father gave me. He used Ohios during his competitive years, from the late '30s to the early '40s, when he won the Orange County, New York, championship all but one year. He won the "Queen City" championship (Poughkeepsie, NY) in 1938, beating the New York City champion in thew final match of the day. That same year, he came in (as I recall) 6th in the New York State tournament. They are very good shoes. Also, regarding "Jeff", June 28, 2003, concerning ringer percentages, you are correct regarding the general statistics of his average. I suggest that the issue may be that getting the first pitch a ringer puts him in a stress situation. (You allude to this with your comment regarding his doubles percentage; whether he's under 20% or over 30%.) He can determine this by checking his 1st and 2nd shoe distributions. Out of 200 shoes, if he is making less than 25 doubles, that could indicate a problem. Then, if he has more than 50 1st-shoe ringers, perhaps the pressure to make a double 'gets to him'. On the other hand, if he has more than 50 2nd-shoe ringers, it may be that missing the first shoe causes him to concentrate more on the second shoe. Evaluating these statistics over a fairly significant period of time might give him the clues he needs to get closer to the statistically-random averages you mention. Hi Gene, Thanks for the input! We will post your information and I am sure those guys will find it interesting and helpful. Gene November 26, 2003 San Marcos CA We are building a set of courts (3) for our club. An issue is the choice between sand and clay for the pits. With sand, shoes tend to slide while with clay they tend to stay where they land. Thus, clay would seem to favor the more accurate player. However, keeping clay in a well-maintained condition may take much more 'tender, loving care' than would sand. For purely recreational purposes, what do you think our best choice would be, and why? Hi Gene, I think you answered your own question already! How serious are your friends going to be about playing? Most serious players would much rather play in clay, but it does take more care. If you and your friends are going to play at least once a week I think that clay would be worth it, however if you are going to play once a month or less then sand might be way to go. With clay if you use some material, such as a rug or burlap watered over the clay which is covered by a wood after playing then the clay should keep moist for a week for easier care. Have fun and good luck. Mark November 20, 2003 Mount Prospect IL Walter Ray, Hi i pitch a 1 1/4 turn and use ted allen horseshoes could you recommend and other shoes that work good with my 1 1/4 turn. Thank You, Mark Hi Mark, I currently pitch a 1 & 3/4 turn, but before that I pitched a 1 & 1/4 turn for many years using the Clydesdale Deadeye horseshoes which I still use. There are many different brands out there and it is a matter of what feels good for you. Try borrowing others shoes to "try them out". The important thing is that the shoe "feels good" to you! Jim November 13, 2003 Rialto CA Walter Ray, I'm a S.A.L. (sons of american legion)member at our American Legion Post #422 in Rialto, CA. We are trying to set up a tournament against other A.L. posts in the Inland Empire area. We are having a problem finding an official rotation schedule or brackets on who plays who. Also, we are not sure how to score such a tournament as far as wins & loses. We were wondering if you could help us with this problem, or direct us to a website that you may know of, that would have scoring and rotation schedule examples that we could follow. We appreciate any information that you could provide. On behalf of American Legion Post #422, S.A.L., thank you, Jim Pietak GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS! Hi Jim, Here is a website for the Southern California Association http://www.nhpa.net/indexF.html . The National Association is www.horseshoepitching.com . The national site has a lot of information on how to play tournaments. The local association might be able to send someone over to help you get organized a bit better plus have info on local clubs and contacts. I know that there is a club nearby in Fontana. Good luck and I hope this helps. By the way the, World championships are going to be in Bakersfield in August 2005. Maybe by then, a couple of your pitchers might be interested in playing in it. Gerry Tyson November 2, 2003 Pace FL Walter Ray, I just got a old pair of horseshoes and i want to use them to work on my bowling game. How far are the stakes to be apart to play horseshoe, and are there any tips you will give me to improve my bowling. Also I would like to buy one of those sporty t-shirts if they come in 3xL. Hope to hear from you soon and we are all pulling for you in Pensacola. Bowl good and I will see you at the masters. THANK YOU FOR TIME Gerry Tyson Hi Gerry, There is detailed information on how to build a horseshoe court on the NHPA's website at http://www.horseshoepitching.com/gameinfo/bldcourt.shtml. The stakes are normally put 40' apart with a foul line 37' from the opposite peg for men, 27' for women, juniors 18 and under, and elder men 70 and older, plus a foul line of 20' for juniors 9 years and under. There is a horseshoe club in Niceville and they have an information webpage at http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Dome/9489/niceville.html . To improve your bowling I work on having good form (follow through) and practice. I don't think that our T-shirts come in 3XL. If they ever do, I am sure that we will contact you. Thanks. Larry October 30, 2003 Estero FL I just discovered your web site and am enjoying it very much. I am a 64 year old newcomer to the sport of Horseshoes and have been practicing now for about a year. I happened to have an old pair of "Red Henton's" that I won several years ago in a door prize drawing at the Iowa State Fair. I use them here in the sand of Florida and then in the yellow clay of Iowa in the Summer. I'm shopping for a new pair of shoes and am curious about the difference between "Cast" and "Drop-Forged" manufactured shoes. What are the pros and cons of one or the other? Thanks for all the info on the web site and Thanks in advance for your response to my query. Hi Larry, Cast shoes are poured into a mold while forged shoes are stamped out in a huge press. Cast shoes seem to be a bit thicker and seem to be a bit 'softer'. They also seem to break a bit more than forged shoes. Have fun. Dan October 21, 2003 Akron OH Walter Ray, I attended the Eastern Nationals this past June just as a spectatator and was wondering what type of shoes the top turn throwers use. You have thrown against all these guys and I was wondering if you know this information. I throw the 1 1/4 turn and have been using the six shooter because of the wider gripping area but I am looking for a change. What type of Shoe? W.R. Williams Jr.- Alan Francis- Mandell Proctor- Robert Hayes- Art Tyson- Elbert Shifflett- Thanks for your help, Dan Bailey Hi Dan, Alan Francis uses regular Deadeye's while I use drop forged Clydesdale Deadeye's. I think that Mandell Proctor has pitched Clydesdale Deadeye's, but was using some other shoes at the world this year. I think that Robert Hayes uses Deadeye E-Z grips, but I could be wrong. I think that Art Tyson uses either the Tyson Swinger or the Mustang. I believe that Elbert Shifflett uses the Imperial. Hope that helps. Marty October 6, 2003 Centralia IL Hello Walter Ray. Thank you for taking my questions. I actually have two. I am an averge amature horseshoe player who recently participated in my first sanctioned tournement. Although I have thrown four tourneys a year for elevan years, this was this first time I ever played on clay pits. We always played on sand. I plan on one day having my tourneys sanctioned and switching the pits to clay. At this tourney certain people were allowed to throw at thirty feet.( Women and childern) What is your opinion of this rule? Shouldn't they have stay in their own age group or division? Also, I have two boys ages 10 and 9 years of age. I plan on entering them into competive tourneys next year. What advice can you give me on the amount of practice time for them to do every day? Hi Marty, The shorter distance is to allow the weaker players, women, children, elder men and handicapped players to compete. I was not quite 10 when I started to pitch horseshoes and pitched from the 30' distance until I was about 14. Most places mix the pitchers together to make for better competition. Some men seem to resent playing against women and others who pitch from a shorter distance. I usually enjoy pitching against the shorter distance players as they give me plenty of good competition. If I were you I would teach your boys how to pitch, but let them play when they want to. If they really enjoy pitching horseshoes, they will get out and practice. If you push them into to pitching when they really don't want to they will resent it and not enjoy the game. When I was young I used to pitch an hour or two every day that I could. Usually it was the case that I wanted to pitch horseshoes more than anybody would. Good luck to you and your boys. Gary September 15, 2003 Boise ID Walter Ray, I am looking at purchasing some shoes for my wife and was wondering what shoe you would recommend for her. I am converting her to the turn, and she is currently pitching the cast clydesdale but they are the heavy weight. I thought that the deadeye horseshoes introduced a lightweight shoe in one of the deadeye models. She is petite and struggles after pitching for awhile. What is the lightest shoes that deadeye offers? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Gary Opper Hi Gary, The Clydesdale horseshoes do tend to be the heavier of the models. The regular deadeyes might be a bit lighter. When you order them, you might want to ask for the lightest weight they have in stock. Years ago they used to have some shoes which were 2 pounds and 6 or 7 ounces, but I don't know if they still have those. If your wife struggles with the distance, you could have her pitch from 25 or 27 feet and gradually move back when she is comfortable. I think a turn is also great for ladies to use. Good luck to both of you and see you in Idaho next year. Bill August 29, 2003 Lee's Summit MO While you are bowling at Lunar Bowl in Blue Springs, MO, are you going to play any Horseshoes in the area. I would like to come out and watch. I am a Bowler who is interested in watching a Horseshoe match. I know all about what is happening at a PBA Event but have no idea what is going on in the Horseshoe competition. Thanks, Bill Smith Hi Bill, Last year I did play in a horseshoe tournament nearby while I was in town for the PBA tournament in Blue Springs, MO. I wasn't planning on pitching much this fall/winter, but my plans could change. If something comes up, I'll try and put it on my website schedule as soon as possible. Chuck August 27, 2003 Springfield OH first of all thanks for taking the time to answer my and everyone elses questions,I am a big fan of yours, I do not bowl but love the game of horseshoes. I am in the process of switching from a flip to a turn. I noticed you have told people before that you have a picture of how to hold the shoe to make it turn, I have looked every where on your site and just cant seem to find it , if you could please tell me exactly where it is I would be so grateful, I have looked on the stat page and cannot seem to find it,I pitch about fifty % now but loose alot of ringers do to them bouncing off, any other advice to go along with the picture to help me make the switch would be great thanks Hi Chuck, 50% is very good. If you change to a turning shoe, it will take a lot of practicing to get back to where you are. But if you stay with it, I think you should be able to get better. There are some pictures of grips at this link http://www.geocities.com/billiesuep/basics.shtml , but they are kind of low quality. I will try and get some better pictures on our website very soon. The more important part is how you get the shoe to rotate. Here is a description of how to throw a turning shoe. There are many ways to hold a horseshoe. I use a finger tip grip which has the shoe resting on the tips of the fingers and wrapping the thumb around the other side so that the thumb is between the middle and index finger. I used to throw a 1 & 1 / 4 which has the open end to the left when holding the shoe to your face and your hand is on the bottom of the shoe. I now throw a 1 & 3 / 4 (actually 1 & 7 / 8) where the shoe is open towards the sky and to the right at about 45 degrees. When I pitch the shoe I rotate the shoe slightly at the point of release in a very slow frisbee turn. You don't want to get 'wristy' when you release the shoe as it will be very difficult to control. I hope this helps. Horseshoe Q&A  [1-20]  [21-40]  [41-60]  [61-80]   [101-120]   [121-140]   [141-160]    [161-180]