AUBURN - Horseshoes have long been a fixture of backyard barbecues and summer weekend gatherings.
This is something Butch Squires is quite familiar with.
“My whole family plays,” said Squires, a Weedsport resident and president and co-founder of Alley Shoes, a new horseshoe league at Rainbow Lanes. “Whenever we all get together for a cookout or anything like that we start playing. It sort of travels from family member to family member, who ever is having the cookout has horseshoes. It is a lot of fun to get out in the backyard and start shooting. It is something I grew up doing and still love to do.”
Squire's passion for the game quickly rubbed off on his wife, too.
“She had never played,” he said, “until we got together and then she saw how much fun it was and she was hooked, too.”
This led them to join the Syracuse Pioneer Horseshoe Club.
“We couldn't find anything around here,” Squires said. “But other places the game is really popular. So we joined a club in Syracuse for a couple of years and would drive back and forth a couple of times a week to go there and play.”
But after a couple of years the drive began to wear thin for Squires, but this proved to be a big motivation.
“We had a lot of fun playing there, but we didn't feel like driving back and forth all the time but we still wanted to play,” Squires said. “After looking around there really wasn't anything closer to get involved with, so we decided that maybe we should try to put something together ourselves right here in Weedsport.”
Squires approached Ron and Kay Rizzo at Rainbow Lanes and they were both interested in Squires' proposition.
“We knew a few other people around here that played,” Squires said. “So I went and talked to Ron and Kay about it and we all thought that it would be a benefit to put something together here and give it a try and see how it goes.”
Squires said that in many ways, horseshoes is a game that is a perfect complement to bowling.
“They are a lot alike really,” Squires said. “The way you throw all depends on how you feel that night. But it is all in your approach and release and things like that, just like bowling.”
With help from friends such as league vice president John Ryan, Squires was able to get a playing area quickly put together right alongside the bowling alley, which helped the league find its unique name.
“It was all donations,” Squires said. “John got the sand and we all took a few hours to go out and get the pits ready and set everything up. It really only took a few hours of all of us working together to get everything set up and we were ready.”
The league, which meets once a week on Tuesday nights at Rainbow Lanes didn't take too long to get on its feet.
As soon as Squires and the Rizzos put the word out, they found there was a definite local interest, with 20 players in the league
“That is pretty good, especially for the first time we are doing this,” Squires said. “The league my wife and I were in in Syracuse had 24 people. So I think we are doing really well. Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun with this.”
This response has allowed the league to keep things interesting - they have a blind draw before each game.
“We are pretty happy with the way things have been going,” Squires said. “With as many people as we have you should have a different partner every week and that helps to keep it a little more fun and interesting.”
Once teams are picked, the league runs by official horseshoe rules. Whichever team gets closest to the stake earns the points, with hitting the post (a ringer) earning the most points for who ever throws it.
“We usually play about 13 games a night,” Squires said. “There is something about that sound when it hits the post, but the whole thing is just a lot of fun.”
The first session of the league is about halfway over already and there are plans for a big end-of-the-season clam bake, but plans are already in the works to get another league together.
“So far things are going well and the interest is there,” Squires said. “I think once people realize we are here doing this it will only get bigger from here.”
“My whole family plays,” said Squires, a Weedsport resident and president and co-founder of Alley Shoes, a new horseshoe league at Rainbow Lanes. “Whenever we all get together for a cookout or anything like that we start playing. It sort of travels from family member to family member, who ever is having the cookout has horseshoes. It is a lot of fun to get out in the backyard and start shooting. It is something I grew up doing and still love to do.”
Squire's passion for the game quickly rubbed off on his wife, too.
“She had never played,” he said, “until we got together and then she saw how much fun it was and she was hooked, too.”
This led them to join the Syracuse Pioneer Horseshoe Club.
“We couldn't find anything around here,” Squires said. “But other places the game is really popular. So we joined a club in Syracuse for a couple of years and would drive back and forth a couple of times a week to go there and play.”
But after a couple of years the drive began to wear thin for Squires, but this proved to be a big motivation.
“We had a lot of fun playing there, but we didn't feel like driving back and forth all the time but we still wanted to play,” Squires said. “After looking around there really wasn't anything closer to get involved with, so we decided that maybe we should try to put something together ourselves right here in Weedsport.”
Squires approached Ron and Kay Rizzo at Rainbow Lanes and they were both interested in Squires' proposition.
“We knew a few other people around here that played,” Squires said. “So I went and talked to Ron and Kay about it and we all thought that it would be a benefit to put something together here and give it a try and see how it goes.”
Squires said that in many ways, horseshoes is a game that is a perfect complement to bowling.
“They are a lot alike really,” Squires said. “The way you throw all depends on how you feel that night. But it is all in your approach and release and things like that, just like bowling.”
With help from friends such as league vice president John Ryan, Squires was able to get a playing area quickly put together right alongside the bowling alley, which helped the league find its unique name.
“It was all donations,” Squires said. “John got the sand and we all took a few hours to go out and get the pits ready and set everything up. It really only took a few hours of all of us working together to get everything set up and we were ready.”
The league, which meets once a week on Tuesday nights at Rainbow Lanes didn't take too long to get on its feet.
As soon as Squires and the Rizzos put the word out, they found there was a definite local interest, with 20 players in the league
“That is pretty good, especially for the first time we are doing this,” Squires said. “The league my wife and I were in in Syracuse had 24 people. So I think we are doing really well. Everyone seems to be having a lot of fun with this.”
This response has allowed the league to keep things interesting - they have a blind draw before each game.
“We are pretty happy with the way things have been going,” Squires said. “With as many people as we have you should have a different partner every week and that helps to keep it a little more fun and interesting.”
Once teams are picked, the league runs by official horseshoe rules. Whichever team gets closest to the stake earns the points, with hitting the post (a ringer) earning the most points for who ever throws it.
“We usually play about 13 games a night,” Squires said. “There is something about that sound when it hits the post, but the whole thing is just a lot of fun.”
The first session of the league is about halfway over already and there are plans for a big end-of-the-season clam bake, but plans are already in the works to get another league together.
“So far things are going well and the interest is there,” Squires said. “I think once people realize we are here doing this it will only get bigger from here.”
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