My horseshoe pitching background:
My parents owned Oak Point Resort at Rush Lake in Otter Tail County, near New York Mills, Minnesota. The resort had two horseshoe courts where I would watch my father pitch horseshoes with his friends. To pass the time when I wasn't helping with resort work, I started pitching horseshoes at around the age of ten (at 40 feet). By the time I was 12, my father (Erv Keskinen) and I were playing doubles against any takers with the usual prize for a win being a beer for him and a root beer for me. In my teens I also played singles (at 40 ft) against men who came to our resort, and I usually won.

Living in northern Minnesota, I thought the only horseshoes made were those by Diamond Horseshoe Co. of Duluth which made horseshoes from 1924 - 1985. We had sets of the "Super Ringer" and "Double Ringer" horseshoes, both hard steel shoes, mostly used for backyard or picnic pitching. In the early 1980s Diamond made a "dead soft" Tournament shoe which became more popular. I have two pair of the "Super Ringers," two pair of the "Double Ringers," and a pair of the "Tournament" shoes. Diamond Tool went out of business in the 1980s. Many pitchers still pitch Diamond shoes which can be sometimes found for sale on eBay. Omega Horseshoes makes the "Competition" model that is basically the Tournament shoe.

For over 20 years I pitched the '[Snyder] E-Z Flip II' shoes, of which I have two pair. To work on targeting my pitched shoe I also use two pair of the 'Grabit Lite' shoes made by Hilfling. The curvature of the Grabits force me to have an even, underhanded arm swing; plus, the "Lite" (2 lb, 4 oz each) shoes help a bit since I am getting older and want less stress on my wrists and shoulders.

Some bragging:
As a member of the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA) I began pitching in their sanctioned tournaments in 2008 at the age of 59. I won my first tournament with a ringer average of 56.01% which put me in the "Top 100 Women" in the US where I was continuously listed until 2021 when I stopped pitching because of my arthritis. I peaked at #27 in the country in 2013 with an average of 64.66%, and my last entry in the Top 100 was in early July of 2021 at #58 with an average of 53.33%. (My lifetime ringer average us 54.5%.) I am proud to be a 3-time Idaho Women's State Champion (2011, 2014, and 2017). At the 2021 World Horseshoe Tournament held in Winnemucca, Nevada I received the NHPA Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to horseshoe pitching at the statewide and local levels. Here's a link to the awards presentations; the first is for 2021, mine is for 2020 and starts at about 4:20 of the 7:20 Banquet video.

Some basic horseshoe information:
The choice of a "grip" and a "turn" is an important step in beginning to pitch horseshoes. Most pitchers throw a "turn" shoe, about a fourth of us throw a "flip" shoe. The most common grip is a 1-1/4 which can be used for either the reverse 3/4 or the reverse 1-1/4 turn. The second most popular grip is the 1-3/4 which can be used for the 3/4 or the reverse 1-3/4. The third most common turn is a flip of one revolution, though multiple revolutions can be done. The "flip" turn usually has a centered grip.

Since I'm a single "flipper," I like shoes that have a rear thumb cleat, heavy tips, and reversed grabbing cleat (on the side opposite of the thumb cleat). I'm currently using the Sue Snyder E-Z Flip II shoes (without the ringer breaker) that weigh in at 2 lbs 8.6 ounces each and are made by Thoroughbred. I also have a pair of Gordon horseshoes that I use when pitching with my doubles partner who "turns" those shoes (we have to share the same pair in league).

The menu at the left has links to information about the various "grips" and "turns" of horseshoe pitching.

The NHPA site has oodles of information about horseshoes, including the NHPA Official Rules and how to construct horseshoe courts.

For great information on youth horseshoe pitching, there is Horseshoe America.

For an excellent overview of horseshoe pitching, the NHPA has a Horseshoe Pitching Clinic slide show (I converted the PPT to a PDF).

I highly recommend the horseshoe pitching videos on David Qukslvr's YouTube channel. Here's a link to other YouTube horseshoe pitching videos.

Roy W. Smith's "How to Pitch Horseshoes" is an excellent introduction to horseshoe pitching, as is his "Science at the Stake" (both PDF documents).

Here's "The Gentle Art and Sport of Playing Horseshoes" (PDF) from "Mother Earth News" in the July/August 1988 issue.

If you are serious about learning the math and physics behind horseshoe pitching, I highly recommend the web sites of Bob Rasmussen and Kenny Wolf. Bob's horseshoe blog is called Horseshoes My Way, The Search for My Perfect Swing. Here's the blog's Table of Contents. Kenny has a Shoe Math web site called "The Theory of the Physics and Mathematics of Horseshoe Pitching, The physics of the turning shoe and the mathematics of the alignment."

For some historical background on horseshoes, check out the "How-To Guide and History" of Horseshoe Pitching" horseshoe web site. In 2008 a Horseshoe Pitching Professional Tour was started.

For Idaho pitchers, here's the web site for the Idaho State Horseshoe Pitchers Association (has newsletters, tournament schedule, membership form, etc). Here are the current and past issues of the ISHPA "Four Dead" newsletter.

Moscow, Idaho Summer Horseshoe Pitching Leagues/Tournaments/Clinics:
Moscow can now host NHPA/ISHPA sanctioned horseshoe pitching tournaments at the two courts at East City Park (East Third Street). You must be a member of the NHPA in order to participate in these tournaments. The ISHPA web site has the tournament schedule (see link below).

Horseshoe Pitching Clinic, a Tuesday in May 2026, date announced later
Each May I offer a free horseshoe pitching clinic the week prior to the start of the Moscow Parks & Rec summer pitching leagues. The clinic is an introduction to the sport and its rules and can also serve as a refresher for those who haven't pitched for a while. I also am available for individual pitching lessons; I'm always eager to teach the game; e-mail me if you're interested.

Each year Moscow Parks and Recreation offers a summer (late May to early August) doubles horseshoe pitching league that plays Tuesday evenings at the Ghormley Park horseshoe courts, while a singles league pitches on Wednesday evenings beginning in late May running to the end of July also in Ghormley Park. Register for the leagues through Moscow Parks and Recreation (208-883-7084).

There are photos of the two city parks in Moscow, Idaho, that have horseshoe courts.

Idaho/World Tournament Information:
Here's a link to the 2025 sked of NHPA-sanctioned tournaments in Idaho.

The NHPA holds an annual World Horseshoe Tournament; the next one will be held in Wausau, Wusconsin from July 13 - July 26, 2026.

Here's some information about my horseshoe league and tournament play

Contact: My e-mail is [ringergal at yahoo dot com] feel free to e-mail me to chat about horseshoe pitching