Arkansas sends 10 to horseshoe national championships

For most people, pitching horseshoes is a recreational activity. For Arnold Crow and Billy Gill of Tyronza, it’s serious competition.

The Tyronza duo will be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from Monday until Aug. 7, along with 1,268 other pitchers from all over the country, to compete in the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association 2010 Pitching Championships.

The two men will be joined at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena by eight other qualifiers from Arkansas, including Archie Matheny of Mammoth Spring.

The two-week event is held each summer and features eight divisions in which pitchers will compete for $170,000 in prizes and scholarships.

Pitchers compete in eight divisions: open men, open women, senior men, senior women, elder men, junior boys, junior girls and junior cadets.

Crow and Gill are in the world championships for the sixth year, and they will compete in the elder men division as they face off against each of the other 15 competitors in their division.

The top finishers from each division qualify for a championship class.

Gill and Crow have gone all around the country competing, including going to California, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Illinois.

The pair qualified this year by participating in four sanctioned tournaments, and they are eager for the opportunity to compete against the best the sport has to offer.

“I’m pretty excited,” Crow said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Ironically Gill wasn’t into pitching horseshoes growing up and didn’t get into the sport until after he had retired.

“I got started in this about 10 years ago,” Gill said.

Crow said as far back as he can remember his father was always into pitching horseshoes.

“My dad always pitched horseshoes at home in the backyard,” he said. “It was kind of a hobby around the house.”

Now every year the pair travel all around the state competing in different tournaments.

“We go to about 10 tournaments a year,” Crow said.

While both men would like to come home with a little money in their pockets, they both acknowledge that they don’t compete for the money.

“It’s a fun thing if you like it,” Gill said. “We do it for the fun of it.”

If either one of the two wins the division, he receives $500 and moves into the championship class, in which he can earn another $1,800 for a first-place finish.

Crow began competing in 2002 and won his division a few years ago when the competition was held in California.

He came in second the next year in Wyoming, and this year he wants to add to his ever-growing trophy collection.

“I’d just like to finish in the money and get a trophy,” he said. “I’m trophy crazy. I like trophies.”

On a normal day you canfind each man in his backyard pitching in his own personal pit.

Crow’s setup features two different pits to pitch into, with one made up of special clay he got in Missouri and the other containing sand.

“We used to pitch all during the winter,” Crow said. “I’ve pitched when my shoes froze to the ground.” While winning would be nice Crow said the annual trip to the world championship is just a good excuse to take a vacation.

“It’s like a vacation for me and him, but the wives don’t always enjoy it,” he said with a laugh. “I look forward everyyear to doing it.”

When it comes to what it takes to be a successful pitcher, Gill said like any sport, it takes practice and determination.

“You’ve got to really want to pitch,” he said. “You’ve got to love it just like any other sport, and you’ve got to pitch every day.”

Like most sports, pitching also has a mental aspect to it, and both men agree that being focused only on pitching is crucial in big tournaments.

“You can go in the backyard and pitch good, but when you get into a big tournament it’s a different atmosphere,” Crow said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 07/24/2010

Upcoming Events