HORSESHOES

An ongoing series of the men and women who pitch horseshoes. These images comprise both sanctioned league play and backyard casual play. The first year my husband joined the Hamilton Horseshoe Club, he was one of its youngest members. I began this project the next season (2012), and witnessed several new members pitch their first 100 shoes, a placement requisite. These included a teenage boy and his younger cousin, the second female club member. I’ve traveled to several sanctioned tournaments, where there was always a mixture of fierce competition and friendly chatter. Whether a precisely watered and maintained clay pit, or a casual dirt pit in rural Maine, there is a camaraderie among the competitors. And a rhythmic grace to each unique pitching style, a musicality to the clang of metal on metal.