How Was Horseshoe Pitching Invented?

The games of horseshoe pitching and quoits are very similar. In horseshoes, players toss horseshoes toward a stake in the ground; in quoits, they toss rings toward a stake. Some people think quoits came from horseshoes, but it was really the other way around.

Roman soldiers used iron rings to play quoits 2,000 years ago. The game continued to spread in popularity, and in England during the Middle Ages, when some players couldn't find time to make rings for quoits, they decided to use iron horseshoes instead.

The game of horseshoe pitching was born. Horseshoe pitching was popular in the United States as early as Revolutionary times, and world championship tournaments have been held since 1910.

In 1951, a horseshoe pitcher scored 72 ringers in a row!