The Chase County horseshoe pitching tournament team winners were Kody Weiss, left, and Alexis Tropf, first place; Jeff Lempke and Ryan Baker, second place and Cathy Schilke and Ronee Kruger winning third place. Baker was also awarded the Tom Hayes Memorial Trophy for highest individual points. (Johnson Publications photo)
The open class horseshoe pitching tournament team winners were, from left, Dave Cooper, Burlington, Colorado and Paula Norman of Cope, Colorado, first place; Justin Hughes of Ogallala and Steve Nein of Ovid, Colorado, second place and Bryant and Brandon Schoenthal of Wray, Colorado, taking third. (Johnson Publications photo)
Johnny Miller steps into his throw at the county horseshoe pitching contest during the Chase County Fair. (Johnson Publications photo)
CCF open/county horseshoe tournaments draw full rosters
The Chase County Fair’s (CCF) open and county horseshoe pitching tournaments continue to be ever-popular competitions each year.
Twelve two-person teams were signed up for each of the tournaments that took place last Friday and Saturday.
First place in the open horseshoe tournament went to Dave Cooper of Burlington, Colorado and Paula Norman of Cope, Colorado.
The second place team was Justin Hughes of Ogallala and Steve Nein of Ovid, Colorado.
Brandon Schoenthal and son, Bryant, of Wray, Colorado, won third.
Each team received a gift certificate from Hanging Horseshoe Brewing Co. in Imperial with first place also receiving a trophy.
County tournament
Winning first place in the Chase County tournament was Kody Weiss and Alexis Tropf.
In second place was Jeff Lempke and Ryan Baker, with third going to Cathy Schilke and Ronee Kruger.
The winners from the county tournament each received a gift certificate from Hanging Horseshoe Brewing Co. with first place also receiving a trophy.
New individual trophy
Nutrien Ag Solutions LLC, of Imperial presented a new award, the “Tom Hayes Memorial Trophy,” in honor of a long-time employee and avid horseshoe thrower who passed away in June following an accident.
John Vogt, location manager for Nutrien Ag Solutions, presented the trophy to Ryan Baker of Imperial for the highest individual points in the county horseshoe tournament.
This trophy will be awarded to the player with the highest individual points in future tournaments.
The winners’ names will be engraved on the trophy but the trophy will remain on display at Nutrien Ag Solutions’ Imperial location.
The horseshoe tournaments have been a part of the fair for at least 15 years, and Hayes had been involved in it from the beginning, said Karen Hayes, his widow.
“I think it was a very nice thing to do honoring Tom’s memory with something he used to do,” she said.