Horseshoe Pitching Contest

Contest begins at 1pm on the Saturday of our Fall Show at the museum’s arena area. Teams can sign up at the table located beside the horseshoe court.

Contest Rules

  1. This is a team competition, with teams of two individuals. At least one member of each team must be 16 years of age or older. All players must sign a waiver of liability.
  2. Teams compete against each other in single elimination play. Once a team loses a match, they are out of the competition.
  3. One team member throws from one stake, and the second throws from the other (opposite sides of the court). Both members of a team throw before any members of the other team throw. Teams will alternate who throws first each round. Which team throws first in the first round will be decided by a coin toss (or other agreed upon means).
  4. In pitching a shoe, the player may not cross the foul line. If a judge determines the foul line was crossed on a throw, the player will re-take the throw.
  5. Each game will be played to a 20-shoe limit (each team member throws 10 shoes). At the end of 20 shoes, the team with the highest score wins the match and advances to the next round. In the event of any tie, the team that signed up the earliest for the contest wins (same rule applies to determining 3rd place).
  6. Scoring will be tabulated as follows:
  • At the end of the round, the shoe within each pit that is closest to the stake earns one point for the team that threw it.
    • Ringers are worth 3 points each and must completely encircle the stake so the ends of the shoe can be touched with a straight edge without touching the stake.If an opponent throws a ringer on top of a previous ringer, they cancel and no points are scored in that pit.
  • Leaners are worth 2 points and are considered closer to the stake than any other shoe except ringers.

The losing team with the highest score in the penultimate matches comes in 3rd place. The winner of the final match finishes in 1st place, and the loser of the final match finishes in 2nd place. Prizes will be $30 per team member for 1st place, $20 per team member for 2nd place, and $10 per team member for 3rd place.

All judges’ decisions are final. Bad behavior by players will not be tolerated, and judges have the authority to disqualify and eliminate players/teams for it.