The courts at the Fulks Run Fairgrounds have been around for a long time, and horseshoe tournaments used to be frequent events, but this is the firs one that's been held in the past 5 years. I've heard about the courts but have never been over there before. The location was a pleasant surprise - only a few miles from the West Virginia border and tucked up in the mountains. Full restroom facilities, various concession stands that sold everything from the normal hamburgers & hotdogs to funnel cakes and ice cream. Good layout, lots of parking, and shade trees right next to the horseshoe pits. What more could you ask for? 

28 pitchers enjoyed the draw partners tournament organized by Glenn Ritchie, Eileen McQuillan and Jackie Whetzel. It was set up as double elimination with 25 point games, and those games were just long enough. The day started out steamy and stayed that way. A brief period of cloud cover in the afternoon was a relief partway through the games. 

There were some familiar faces in attendance, but quite a few new ones also. Most of the VaHPA members that came by were new to the locals, and they were new to us. It was about a 50/50 participation. Draw partners… in this situation, most team members didn't even know how their partner pitched, never mind the competition! It made for some really fun games.

Hearl Kelly and I were drawn as partners, and ended the day undefeated, in 1st place.  Rick Thomas, from Luray and Drew Helsley from Edinburg came in 2nd, with Bubby Judd, Luray and Ronnie Bell, Rixleysville coming in 3rd.

Glenn Ritchie expressed his appreciation to all the pitchers that showed up - from all over the state! He announced that three more tournaments are in the works on July 25-27 during the Fulks Run County Fair. We hope folks enjoy these events as much as we did the other day - we had a great time!