ST. GEORGE - With a clank of metal on metal, Mont Lewis, 82, Pocatello, Idaho, lands one of his horseshoes around the peg. After he and his opponent, Jerry Harper, 76, Ivins, finish throwing their shoes, the two walk up to look at where the horseshoes have landed.
As week two of the Huntsman World Senior Games begins, athletes age 50 and up will compete in a variety of sports ranging from race walking, volleyball, bowling, basketball and horseshoes.
Unlike some of the games, horseshoe participants are matched up by percentages rather than age. Ebey explains the percentage groupings as he keeps score at the horseshoe complex in St. George.
Ebey is in the 10 percent group while his wife Mary is in the 40 percent group. The percentage group goes up to 60 to 70 percent although Ebey said not too many people play that well.
Translation: Even though a ringer is worth three points, Harper's ringer cancels his out, and he only gets one point for having his other horseshoe the closest to the pole.
Lewis, formerly of Kanab, said he's been playing since he was a boy and loves the game. He also holds a record at the Huntsman World Senior Games for the highest game ever played. During one game in 1997, Lewis got 35 ringers out of 40 pitches.
"I've had knee surgery so there's no more basketball or running, and we watched this about three years ago and asked how we could get involved, and I got picked up by my arms and signed up within a few minutes," Harper said.
Harper said he will throw 900 shoes during the course of the competition. Each game consists of 40 shoes. And, while technique is everything, everyone has their own way of tossing the shoes.
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