Allen wins his class at national horseshoe tournament
EAST CHAPMAN, Maine — A 79-year-old local man has won his class in the 2014 National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA) World Tournament, which was held this summer in Buffalo/Hamburg, N.Y. The tournament is held at a different location throughout the world each summer.
In July, Sonny Allen, of East Chapman, traveled to Buffalo to compete in his first NHPA world tournament. He entered the tournament ranked seventh within his class, Senior Men’s Division Class E, which included 15 divisions of other pitchers from throughout the world. The Senior Men’s Division had eight classes of 15 pitchers throwing 40 feet. The range in ringer percentages were from 27.99 to 31.21 within his class.
“Each participant is seated based on their throwing percentage, which consists of how many ringers they throw out of 40 shoes per game,” explained Allen, whose current percentage is 30.41.
The tournament consisted of five games per day over a three-day period. Each pitcher threw 40 shoes per game. At the end of the three days, Allen’s record was 12 and three — just enough for him to capture the championship within his class. Allen threw a total of 600 shoes during the three-day tournament.
“I enjoy a friendly game of horseshoes,” said Allen.
He perfected his horseshoe skills over the years, competing against friends and family.
“For the past 14 years I and my wife, Jackie, have spent our summer weekends and free time at Loon’s Echo RV Resort in Eagle Lake, where our friends could challenge me to a friendly game of horseshoes,” said Allen.
In 2006, Allen and his wife retired and began spending the winter months in the sunny state of Florida. There he found others who enjoyed the sport as much as he did.
“Horseshoe pitching is a very popular sport in Florida,” he said.
It didn’t take Allen long to get involved at a competitive level.
“I generally participate in three tournaments per month during our winter stay. I’ve been a member of the NHPA since 2007,” said Allen, noting he’s won a number of tournaments over the past seven years.
In 2013 Allen attended the New England NHPA tournament in Keene, N.H., finishing fourth in his class.
Allen recently competed in the Maine Potato Blossom Festival horseshoe tournament this past August. This tournament was a two-man team competition. Partnering with Allen was his cousin, Jerry Cote, of Fort Fairfield. They won the tournament.
Allen was most recently invited to compete in the annual Maine State Horseshoe Pitchers Tournament, held Aug. 16 in Cornish, in which he once again won first place in his class.
