NHPA World Horseshoe Tournament

St. George is proud to announce they will be hosting the 2017 NHPA World Horseshoe Tournament ?Where Legends are made and Landscapes are Legendary.? This amazing tournament will feature Horseshoe Legends as well as newbies. Come out and watch this exciting tournament and learn what horseshoes is all about.
Forty-eight portable horseshoe courts will be set up in the Dixie Convention Center Arena for the 2-week event, with all games being recorded on an electronic scoring system.

This two-week event 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, Elder (short-distance) Men, Junior Boys, Junior Girls and Junior Cadets (12-years old and under).

Entrants hail from 46 US states, 4 Canadian provinces, the countries of Norway and South Africa and for the first time ever - 6 competitors will be representing Namibia.

Current Men's world champion, Alan Francis of Defiance, OH, who is listed in the 2011 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for most world horseshoe pitching championships (15), now has 17 titles under his belt and once again will be attempting to break his own record for most World Championships. Alan currently holds an 88.09% overall average.

Number two ranked Brian Simmons, VT, with a ringer average of 84.4% will be battling Alan for the title, along with PBA great, Walter Ray Williams, JR, FL.

Brian has three World Championships to his name, while Walter Ray holds 6 men's titles and has finished as high as second in the world pitching with his off hand.

Also making an attempt for the gold will be Ohio's Jim Walters who is currently ranked 5th on the top 100 list with a 78.55% average and 6th ranked Dan Watson with 77.13%.

In the Women's division, defending champion, Joan Elmore, TN, heads the lineup with an average ringer percentage of 84.98%. She will be competing against 4 of the top ten ranked women in the country, including 7-time World Champion, Sue Snyder, IN, who is currently ranked 2nd, as well as Debra Brown, VT; Cindy Hoffman, PA; Marlene Ray, TN; and Sharon Chiddister, IN.

This year's Elder division also has a high-percentage lineup with the entire top qualifying preliminary class carrying ringer percentages of 70% or higher. Three of these contenders hold at least one Elder World Championship and are hungry for more - Russ Phillips, WA; Herschel Walters, IN; and Rich Pintor, CO.

As always, the Junior division should provide edge-of-seat excitement, as well. Classes have not yet been seeded, but defending boys champion, Dalton Rakestraw, IL, will be defending his title against a field of worthy competitors, as will Brianna McCormick, VT, who won the girls' title in 2012. Missouri's Ryan Schepers will also be battling to retain his Cadet crown. The Juniors begin competition, Thursday, July 25 with championship play at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, July 27.

Competition will begin by 7:00 a.m. each morning through the preliminary rounds, starting Monday, July 22, with a break for NHPA convention and Hall of Fame banquet on Sunday, then will resume at 7:00 a.m. Monday, July 29. Championship rounds begin Thursday, August 1. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged for all levels of competition. Concessions and souvenirs will be available.

To follow the event online or to learn more about the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association, visit www.horseshoepitching.com or contact NHPA 2nd Vice President, Tina Hawkins at tinahawk@msn.com.