Local Knights take first in statewide horseshoe tourney

Noreen Hyslop photo The horseshoe throwing team of Ronnie LeGrand and Neal Ayers took first place in their division at last weekend's Knights of Columbus competition held in Scott City. The event is the largest competition in the nation.

Neal Ayers and his throwing partner, Ronnie LeGrand, have been in the business of throwing horseshoes competitively for years; Ronnie longer than his counterpart.

"We started competing together in 1991," says LeGrand, who joined with Ayers and 558 other teams to compete in the 28th Annual Knights of Columbus Horseshoe Tournament held last weekend in Scott City. The competition is billed as the largest such one in the nation.

"It's just a lot of fun," Ayers says. "We've met some great folks from all over the state and we enjoy getting to reunite each summer."

What began in 1981 as a friendly competition among the Catholic men's fraternal and charitable organization with just 54 two-man teams has exploded into a two-day event held annually in Missouri. And although the organization itself is a men's group, women are included in the competition.

The game plan is a simple and undemanding one, requiring only some dirt pits and stakes driven and a span of 40 feet to accommodate the throwing distance. A flip of a coin or a pre-game horseshoe toss usually determines the order of players and once established, each player tosses two shoes.

In order for a pitch to count, a horseshoe must land within six inches of the stake. The rules state that any shoes landing outside that space are ineligible for scoring. Scoring is counted in two ways: ringing the stake or landing the horseshoe closest to the stake, with a ringer (encircling the stake) being worth three points. A tossed shoe closest to the stake is worth one point.

The team of LeGrand and Ayers qualified on Saturday for the B Division on the men's side of the tournament, having scored 108 points for 50 throws. Sixty-four teams sarted in the division and about half of them advanced to Sunday's competition. Then, after a full day of throwing on Sunday, and in a close final matchup, the LeGrand-Ayers team emerged as the top duo.

LeGrand and Ayers weren't the only successful throwers from Dexter. Several others representing Sacred Heart Church's Father Slay Council #6515 Knights of Columbus made the short trip north to compete in the event. Although they didn't carry home the trophies, nearly all qualified to advance to the second day of throwing.

Jim Koechner and Josh Ayers competed and lost in the final throws of Saturday, but the team of John Banken and Ken Essner made it to Sunday's games, as did two of the women's teams from Dexter. LaVeda Banken and Debbie Essner, along with Sheila LeGrand and Denise Ayers, all threw well enough on the first day of competition to advance to Sunday as well, although none ended up placing in the finals.

What is often just family and friendly fun in the backyard becomes serious business at many of the horseshoe throwing contests and Ronnie LeGrand takes his throwing serious enough to be rated among the best in the state. Within the Missouri State Horseshoe Pitching Association, he is currently rated 15th, and has been as high as 12th in the recent past. LeGrand competes on the national level as well and will travel this Labor Day weekend to throw in a national event.

With his throwing arm in gear, hopes are for him to put Dexter on the horseshoe-throwing map once again.