Written By Jan Sims
MOUNT BRYDGES - If the shoe fits - throw it. The horseshoe that is. Horseshoes is a sport with roots that go back many years, with modern rules about the game dating to around the beginning of the twentieth centre.
Adam Clark has been playing horseshoes for some 15 years. He’s active with the league that plays at the horseshoe pits at the Mount Brydges Legion. “It’s just something fun, to get outside,” says Clark. “It’s a perfect family and fun game. It doesn’t have to be too competitive.”
Players also tested their skills recently at a pitch that was part of the the Del-Ko-Brydge Canada Day festivities in Delaware.
The objective of the game is to reach a score of twenty-one. There are two ways to score. One way is by throwing “ringers”. You can also score by throwing the horseshoe closest to the stake, which of course, gives rise to the saying “close only counts in horseshoes.”
As to what makes for a good throw: “Everyone has their own style and their own way of throwing. Some people like to throw it in a circle so it goes around, other people like to throw a flip, everyone has their own way of doing it,” says Clark.
Although fun is the name of the game, to get good at horseshoes takes practice. Clark says it took him about two years to become proficient. “To become good, you’d need a fair bit practice. But anybody can come out and practice. It doesn’t take long to start learning and get better,” says Clark.
The Mount Brydges Legion has seven pits. Players of all levels can come out on Monday nights at 7 p.m. “We’re always looking for people to come out and have fun. It’s just a group of guys and ladies that just enjoy the camaraderie and everybody coming together and having fun,” says Clark.
