Gary Currier inducted into Maine Horseshoe Hall of Fame

OXBOW, Maine (WAGM) - Pitching horseshoes has been a popular pasttime for many people. While most people might just pitch the shoes in their backyards others take it more seriously and play competitively.

Gary Currier of Oxbox is a very successful player. Currier won his fourth State Championship on Saturday. Following the competition he was inducted into the Maine Horseshoe Hall of Fame

Gary Currier:” We take horseshoes pretty seriously here in Maine with the Maine Horseshoe Pitcher’s Association. It’s an honor to be in the Hall of Fame. There are a lot of good pitchers in it and a lot that I have thrown against for many years.”

Currier started throwing horseshoes at a young age.

Currier:” My father and I used to throw horseshoes when I was a little kid. We had horseshoe pits on the farm and dad and I threw a lot.”

Currier said that the sport is very low profile and that most people aren’t even aware there is a circuit that serious players compete in several times a year.

Currier:” If you are not into the horseshoe circle you don’t really know that horseshoes are going on. It’s kind of surprising to people that we do have a state association, a national association. We have a very active New England Association. We have State tournaments, New England tournaments and a lot of sanctioned tournaments throughout the year.”

The Oxbow pitcher says that he is one of the only people from the County who are competing at the State Level. There have been some competitors in the past, but most people are more content to enjoy a relaxing game in their backyard with friends.

Currier:” They would rather play in their back yard without the structure.”

Currier has also competed at the New England level, He is Men’s Class B Defending Champion. He also has competed at National events. This past weekend he ended in a three way tie and had to win in a tiebreaker. He stopped Brian Luce in the Championship match. In that match he ended up with 21 ringers out of his 28 shots. Also, for the entire match he ended with a ringer percentage rate of nearly 61 percent with 183 ringers out of his 302 shots.

Currier:” There was a three way tie for first place and I ended up winning and doing what I needed to do win the tournament.”

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