2009 Richmond Open

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**The Richmond Open**
By Carl Otto
April 18, 2009
After three days of rain, Saturday was a beautiful day for horseshoes. The temperature was in the high 70’s, mostly bright blue sky with some scattered white clouds, and a gentle breeze. When registration was complete we had 38 competitors ranging in age from 8 to over 80. The ringer percentages ranged from a low of 5.41 to a high of 48.38. This made class selection very interesting as most classes were very tight. We had several family groups: one family had grandpa, son and grandson; one had husband, wife, son and son-in-law. There was one couple from out of town who take the prize for the longest trip (97 miles). With a spectator group of about 15, everyone welcomed Ivan Morton with his free breakfast (and later lunch and dinner) as the classes were being set. Knowing that everyone there wanted to get their money’s worth of horseshoe pitching, the tournament director (me) made the decision to go with 8 man classes, 40 point games, with a fifty shoe limit (with A class unlimited shoes). During the tournament, 11,864 shoes were pitched and dutifully counted. As it turned out, this format was a bad decision on my part. This format took entirely too long, for which I apologize. We will rethink this for the July tournament, where we will have the additional consideration of the heat and sun. However, even with the long day, we had some great games. In A class, Joe Presho took first place with a 6W-1L record and 55% ringer percentage, barely beating out Glen Barlow who also had a 6W-1L record and 51.24% ringer percentage, in spite of a game in which Glen threw 80%,(16 out of 20 shoes). Glen had to deal with the thought of surgery scheduled for Monday. The surgery was successful and Glen is at home, planning his return. In B class, in keeping with the family day theme, Hope Presho, Joe’s wife, took 1st place with a perfect 7W-0L record and 43.63% ringer average. Our Cadet player, Dayton Campbell, pitched in this class with an entering average of 35.34 going in and pitching 38.71, including the last two games at 50%. He finished with 2W-5L. Ed Jordan finished first in C class under the lights with a record of 6W-1L. Not bad, considering Ed was part of the set up group in the morning, scorekeeper during the morning and played in the afternoon. In D class, George Hopson pitched his first match as an elder and finished first with a record of 6W-1L. George turned 70 this year. Happy Birthday George. Again, I apologize for how long the tournament took. I appreciate how well everyone dealt with the long day. I hope everyone had as much fun as Dayton, who thoroughly enjoyed himself. After all, the goal is to have fun and to enjoy the company of others of like mind. Thank you all for coming. Special thanks to Bobby Vickers, the computer guy, who kept things going smoothly from 9 am to 9 PM, to my wife, Mary Ellen, who did registration and all the things I forgot to do, to Kammy Luck for helping Bobby get everyone into the computer and started, and to those who volunteered and kept score. It makes life easier for all when there are scorekeepers. Thank YOU to Ivan Morton and his family for the delicious food, again. To those who did not make this tournament, join us for our next tournament, Sat. July 18, 2009, same place, same time, weather permitting. Our sand pits allow us to deal with some rain and recover quickly. They also don’t require much work during the tournament. LOST AND FOUND: If you left anything at the courts, please give me a call 804-641-8695. Submitted by: Carl Otto, Tournament Director

After three days of rain, Saturday was a beautiful day for horseshoes. The temperature was in the high 70’s, mostly bright blue sky with some scattered white clouds, and a gentle breeze. When registration was complete we had 38 competitors ranging in age from 8 to over 80. The ringer percentages ranged from a low of 5.41 to a high of 48.38. This made class selection very interesting as most classes were very tight.

We had several family groups: one family had grandpa, son and grandson; one had husband, wife, son and son-in-law. There was one couple from out of town who take the prize for the longest trip (97 miles).

With a spectator group of about 15, everyone welcomed Ivan Morton with his free breakfast (and later lunch and dinner) as the classes were being set.

Knowing that everyone there wanted to get their money’s worth of horseshoe pitching, the tournament director (me) made the decision to go with 8 man classes, 40 point games, with a fifty shoe limit (with A class unlimited shoes). During the tournament, 11,864 shoes were pitched and dutifully counted. As it turned out, this format was a bad decision on my part. This format took entirely too long, for which I apologize. We will rethink this for the July tournament, where we will have the additional consideration of the heat and sun.

However, even with the long day, we had some great games.

In A class, Joe Presho took first place with a 6W-1L record and 55% ringer percentage, barely beating out Glen Barlow who also had a 6W-1L record and 51.24% ringer percentage, in spite of a game in which Glen threw 80%,(16 out of 20 shoes). Glen had to deal with the thought of surgery scheduled for Monday. The surgery was successful and Glen is at home, planning his return.

In B class, in keeping with the family day theme, Hope Presho, Joe’s wife, took 1st place with a perfect 7W-0L record and 43.63% ringer average. Our Cadet player, Dayton Campbell, pitched in this class with an entering average of 35.34 going in and pitching 38.71, including the last two games at 50%. He finished with 2W-5L.

Ed Jordan finished first in C class under the lights with a record of 6W-1L. Not bad, considering Ed was part of the set up group in the morning, scorekeeper during the morning and played in the afternoon.

In D class, George Hopson pitched his first match as an elder and finished first with a record of 6W-1L. George turned 70 this year. Happy Birthday George.

Again, I apologize for how long the tournament took. I appreciate how well everyone dealt with the long day. I hope everyone had as much fun as Dayton, who thoroughly enjoyed himself. After all, the goal is to have fun and to enjoy the company of others of like mind.

Thank you all for coming. Special thanks to Bobby Vickers, the computer guy, who kept things going smoothly from 9 am to 9 PM, to my wife, Mary Ellen, who did registration and all the things I forgot to do, to Kammy Luck for helping Bobby get everyone into the computer and started, and to those who volunteered and kept score. It makes life easier for all when there are scorekeepers.

Thank YOU to Ivan Morton and his family for the delicious food, again.

To those who did not make this tournament, join us for our next tournament, Sat. July 18, 2009, same place, same time, weather permitting. Our sand pits allow us to deal with some rain and recover quickly. They also don’t require much work during the tournament.

LOST AND FOUND: If you left anything at the courts, please give me a call 804-641-8695.

Submitted by: Carl Otto, Tournament Director

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