National Horseshoe Pitchers Association's World Championships

Feb. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of its World Horseshoe Pitching Championships July 27 through August 8, 2009.

Seven-time Women’s World Horseshoe Pitching Champion, Sue Snyder of Kentucky pitched in her first world tournament in 1987.  She will be defending her title again this year.

She got involved in this level of competition when she was invited to an NHPA tournament in Indiana. She now travels to the tournaments with her husband, Rick.

Sue practices every day for 3 to 5 hours.  This helps her to maintain an 86.6% ringer average.  For those who don’t know, that means when Sue pitches 100 shoes, she misses fewer than 14 ringers!

Sue loves the competition at the World Championships, but that isn’t the only thing that keeps her coming back… The friendships she has developed over the years are important, too.  People from all over the United States, Canada and sometimes Norway and Japan come to the competition year after year.

Sue and Rick usually do some site-seeing while at the venue, as well, unless Sue feels the need for extra practice. Many horseshoe pitching families use this event to plan their summer vacations, taking advantage of all the attractions near the host city.

This year, families will be visiting the Land of Lincoln, as the event will be held in Springfield, Illinois. Many will stay the full two weeks of the tournament, giving time for tourism as well as competition.

The two-week tournament is held once each summer to crown a World Champion horseshoe pitcher in each of eight divisions – Open Men, Open Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, Short-Distance Men, Junior Boys, Junior Girls and Junior Cadets (9-years old and under).

Pitchers are competing for approximately $170,000 in prize money, trophies and scholarships, as well as the right to call themselves “World Champion.” Over 1200 participants are expected at this year’s event.

The competition is open to all members of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association who have competed in at least four NHPA sanctioned events in the twelve months prior to the May 14th entry deadline.  Spectators are welcome for all levels of competition.

If you would like to become a member of the NHPA and try to qualify for this event, visit www.horseshoepitching.com to find contact information for a club near you. For more information on the NHPA World Horseshoe Pitching Championships contact Tina Hawkins, NHPA 2nd Vice President and Publicity/Promotions Director at 580-658-3923 or email tinahawk@msn.com.