In my April 27th update to this web site, a request was made for horseshoes to donate to a group trying to pitch – 40 kids with only four sets of shoes – the Hillside Boys and Girls Club in Richmond.  The response was great - 20 pairs of shoes, a whole bunch of recycled trophies, and some member sponsorships for juniors. 

With the items collected, Pat and I scheduled a junior clinic at the Gilles Creek Park on Saturday July 12th . With help from Sonya McDowell, we put together a one hour presentation on pitching horseshoes. Pat gave a brief history about the origin of the sport, starting with “quoits” and working through to the present form of pitching. Then Sonya and Pat played a brief game as a demonstration while I kept score on an oversized score sheet. The demo done, the juniors picked shoes from the donations, and were off on the on the courts – they had a blast, and kept score for their own games. At the end of the day, all 11 juniors present voted to form a league – and the Hillside Horseshoe Club came into being.

Wyatt Kingston, Director of that chapter, is really enthusiastic, and is thrilled that  ‘his kids’ now have 10 times more shoes than what they started with. His and our sincere thanks to the Hix Family, Ric and Amy Hall, Chuck Duymich, and Carl Otto for their donations. 

The donations have not stopped, this past weekend Billy and Jamie Morris donated 4 more pairs of shoes. Thank you both!

If you would like to sponsor a child to pitch in this sanctioned league it only costs $5.00 to buy their NHPA membership. A fund is being set up to support this group going forward. If you would like to be a sponsor, please send a check to the Hillside Sponsor Fund, c/o Kevin Snelgrove, P.O. Box 625 Stuarts Draft, VA 24477. If you have horseshoe donatations please give them to Pat, one of the state officers or myself, and we will make sure they are passed on to a needy child. For the children of the Hillside Chapter of the Richmond Boys & Girls club, thank you for your help.