Pahrump held its first national horseshoe tournament of 2014 on July 12, which was called the Saddle West Open. Horseshoers from all over the state came to Pahrump to try their luck.
Ken Jose is the president of the Central Nevada Horseshoe Pitchers Association and came from Tonopah. He finished in third place. “I didn’t do pretty well. In my class some guy named Garcia beat everyone. I am not sure where he was from. The guy didn’t say much, he just beat us all. I will be going to the next tournament in Pahrump,” he said.
Mike Norton an avid horseshoe pitcher from Pahrump and said the event was a lot of fun.
“We had a great turnout and the tournament champion is a local Elks Club member, Larry Fellows. We had three local players who placed in the tournament: Larry Fellows, Don Brown and Dok Hembree,” Norton said.
Norton said the event was sponsored by Saddle West Casino and Mom’s Diner.
The world tourney is now going on in Buffalo, New York, so no NHPA tournaments are scheduled during this week.
The next tournament is August 16, which will be in Pahrump and be called the Shade Tree Open. This will be a NHPA sanctioned event, to play in this tournament you need to be a NHPA member. Anyone interested in joining can contact Norton at 775-537-0542 or email bonespr2745@att.net.
The NHPA state championship, another sanctioned event, will be held in Hawthorne on August 23 at Hawthorne City Park.
Pahrump will also have a non-sanctioned (anyone can play) event September 28 at the Fall Festival. Information for the Fall Festival will be on the Fall Festival website in early August.
Norton said they are always looking for new players. “We have some locals who pitch on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. and most Saturdays at noon in Petrack Park. Come and enjoy with our friendly group,” Norton said.