The Sunnyvale Sun

Cover Story

Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Don Kies from Sunnyvale, the California State Elder Division Champion for horseshoe throwing, makes a pitch at the new Columbus Park horseshoe court. Kies is a member of the San Jose Golden Eagles Horseshoe Club.

Perfect Pitch

Horseshoe enthusiasts have a new place to play

By Crystal Lu

Squinting into the sun from under a wide-brimmed hat, 74-year-old Leon Moore says he waited seven years for some new horseshoe courts in San Jose.

Moore grew up on a farm in Spiro, Okla., where he and his friends once tossed the shoes from horses' feet at posts in the ground. With horseshoes that small, it was tough to get a ringer, he said. Sporting horseshoes are wider and taller.

Moore and his friend Don Kies--who won the 2007 state horseshoe pitching championship in the age 70-and-over division--say they are glad that the city opened the new Columbus Park Horseshoe Complex on Sept. 14. The 21-court park has been designed for team competitions.

On Aug. 28, Kies, Moore and a few other members of the Golden Eagles Horseshoe Club, which draws members from throughout San Jose and beyond, were out in the sweltering heat to prepare the 19 clay courts by watering and softening the clay around the pegs.

"Look, he got a double ringer!" Kies said, watching a player at another court cast two shoes on one peg.

"We're very excited--we hope membership will increase," Moore said.

Both men played at the city's old horseshoe courts at Senter Park before they were shut down in 2000. The 21 courts there opened in the 1980s, and the club hosted several tournaments. The Golden Eagles, which was formed in the late 1920s, peaked at more than 130 members around that time.

The courts at Senter Park were down a hill and shaded from view. By the late '90s, members said, the homeless used the area for encampments and vandalized the courts. San Jose police tried to patrol the place, but often they would just toss a few horseshoes and leave, Moore said. A barbed-wire fence was installed, but people still trespassed.

In 2000, the area was reconstructed as Los Lagos golf course, and city officials promised to relocate the horseshoe courts. The city hired a contractor for the $450,000 project at Columbus Park, and club members and city workers will maintain it.

"It's been too long," said Al Lopez, a retired supermarket manager from San Jose and another Golden Eagles member.

The Golden Eagles club now has about 30 members, and about one in three are women. Moore and Kies are Lockheed Martin retirees who had played at company picnics and events.

They aren't alone in their love of the game. More than 15 million people play horseshoes in back yards and in tournaments in the United States and Canada, according to the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

While horseshoe pitching is more popular in states such as Missouri and Minnesota, California has its share of pitchers. The association's Northern California region has about 530 members who play or compete against one another at least weekly in 22 clubs. At the state tournament in Davis on Sept. 1 and 2, roughly 220 participants came with their families and friends.

Gail Sluys, its regional director, said San Jose's lack of horseshoe courts has contributed to a dip in membership.

A new horseshoe complex in San Jose will probably spur growth the sport in the South Bay, Sluys said.

"We're really excited to be back in San Jose; it's a big city," she said.

Already, the San Jose Open has been scheduled for Sept. 22-23 at the new facility.

For the past seven years, many Golden Eagles members met on most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Washington Park in Sunnyvale, where they say two of its four courts are in decent condition.

Golden Eagles club members said the city agreed to build them a new horseshoe complex when the old venue was demolished.

The pitchers in the club, many of whom are retired or learned decades ago, say the game is relatively easy to learn and hard to master.

The object is simple: From 40 feet away, toss an oversize horseshoe and try to ring it around a peg. When the inside of the shoe hits the peg and encircles it--for a "ringer"--it's a satisfying feeling. Points are awarded for ringers or for landing it closest to the stake, and players throw until they reach a point total, such as 50.

One of the sport's draws is that it can be played by young and old and it requires little equipment. Others say they like the one-on-one competition of state and national tournaments.

In 2006, Kies was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Northern California Horseshoe Pitchers Association. He started playing competitively only about 12 years ago.

Born in Ohio, Kies played in junior high school and occasionally at picnics. Around 1990, he was walking by Washington Park and decided to pitch a few horseshoes.

"I started making some ringers, so I joined the club. I was hooked," he said. A gold tooth glimmered in his smile.

Kies proved his mettle at the 2006 state tournament in Bakersfield. He said coordination and good vision is key.

"You've got to keep your eye on the top of the peg, throw where you want to and be able to adjust. ... I'm constantly adjusting," he said.

Branham neighborhood resident Bill Chandler has played with the Golden Eagles for about 20 years. Chandler, 78, took a recent hiatus to take care of his wife, but he said he plans to attend the Columbus Park opening on Sept. 14.

He said he participated in an international tournament in 1988, which was one of the highlights of his horseshoe-pitching career.

"It's one against one is what it is. I like one-on-one competition, and I enjoyed all the people who were playing," he said.

Serious horseshoe pitchers earn percentages of how often they get a ringer in 100 tries. Chandler said he was always trying to reach 40 percent.

He and his 48-year-old son-in-law, Ron Gascon, often pitch horseshoes near their houses at a park by Lancing Avenue and Russo Drive. There are two sand courts, rather than the preferred clay. They also play at Kirk Community Center at 1601 Foxworthy Ave. in Branham.

The 19 new clay courts and two sand courts at Columbus Park are bordered in concrete and have pegs 40 feet apart. There are 4-foot chain-link fences separating the courts so horseshoes don't bounce into other games. Club members use shovels to turn the clay in the pits and water them every other day so the horseshoes don't bounce. If it's too wet, the clay clings to the horseshoe, which is a drag in tournaments, players say.