From the outside, the building looks like many other metal barns common in Texas County and the Ozarks. But setting foot inside reveals something highly uncommon.
The space is actually a unique sporting venue – for horseshoes.
Virgle and Donra McCown have long been fans of pitching horseshoes and enjoyed the activity at many a friendly gathering. Then in 2008, a friend invited them to attend a competition in Arkansas.
“We pitched horseshoes for about 20 years in the summertime or with friends,” Donra said, “but we never knew how to join and go to these tournaments.”
The couple was captivated by the experience, and in 2009 went on to build their “Good Luck Courts” barn venue on their property off of Highway 17 west of Houston. Since then, the McCowns have participated in more horseshoe tournaments than anyone else in Missouri, hosting many on their home courts.
“Once we got started, we’ve gone to just about every available tournament we could,” Donra said.
The McCowns’ efforts have included a healthy share of success. Virgle a three-time Missouri Horseshoe Pitchers Association (MOHPA) state class winner, earned 2008 MOHPA Rookie of the Year honors and is a four-time Player of the Year (2000 through 2012). Donra has tied for first three times in her MOHPA class, is a two-time class runner-up and was Player of the Year in 2013 (the MOHPA and the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association – NHPA – sanction competitions featuring three classes: C Class for beginners, B for intermediate and A for experts).
In July of last year, Donra won in the B Class at the world championships in Buffalo, N.Y., and went on to finish 16th overall. She’s now the 19th-ranked woman in the horseshoe world.
Horseshoe pitching has become a family affair for the McCowns.
“I’ve got two sons and a grandson who pitch,” Virgle said. “I built the barn because of a love of the game and wanting to pitch in the winter. You can’t pitch when it’s zero outside, and I like to throw every day.”
Good Luck Courts features three regulation clay-pit courts and hosts competitions once a month through the winter. When weather allows, area competitors meet at outdoor venues like an eight-court site owned by Dan Hobbs in Mountain View.
“There are other courts,” Hobbs said. “One or two are in little towns where you have to study the map to be able to pitch.”
MOHPA and NHPA members are placed in classes based on “averages” derived from their percentage of ringers out of total pitches. Most sanctioned tournaments are open to anyone who enters.
The top pitcher in the world is Ohio resident Alan Francis, a 19-time world champion with an average over 90-percent.
To make the top 20 on the women’s side, Donra McCown maintains an average of just over 66.
“Some people have just got it,” Virgle said. “She never really practices.”
“I pitch in a tournament about every weekend,” Donra said. “That’s my practice.”
Donra’s pitching career really got rolling several years ago when she spent time with a well-known coach from Wentzville, home of the world Horseshoe Hall of Fame. She said going head-to-head against some of the top women to ever pitch a horseshoe is an eye-opening experience.
“The first few times I ever pitched against world champions was in Danville, Ill.,” Donra said. “It was kind of scary and intimidating at first, but after a while they’re just another horseshoe pitcher and you just block everything out and try to pitch your best.
“There are days when you can’t pitch no matter what you try to do, but there are days when everything you throw up there just works.”
The McCowns have competed at six world championships, traveling all over the county to venues in Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Tennessee, Utah and New York. They also pitch in a four-person team world tournament that takes place each year in Wisconsin.
The 2015 world championships will be staged in July at Topeka, Kan., and the Missouri state championships are set for Labor Day weekend in Lebanon. Good Luck Courts will host another tournament Feb. 21.
Virgle McCown, who currently maintains an average over 57, has spent significant time ranked well inside the top 100 in the world and has pitched against Francis three times. He said he wishes more local people would get into pitching ’shoes, and he’s willing to help them learn at his barn (including popular techniques like end-over-end and three-quarter turn).
“I want them to understand that they don’t have to play me or Donra,” he said, “they play in their class. I feel like there are a lot of people out there who would like to play who don’t even know this is here. And it’s just so much fun – we meet thousands of people we would probably never have met.”
“I think the best thing about all of this is meeting all the great people and making friends with people from all over the world,” Donra said. “It’s really cool and we love it.”
Anyone interested becoming involved with horseshoe pitching is welcome to call Virgle McCown at 417-967-2791 or 417-967-6694. Good Luck Courts is located off of Highway 17 about two miles west of Highway 38.
Playing Area: Horseshoe pit dimensions consist of a “playing area” with an overall length of 48 feet and width of six feet, measured lengthwise from the back of the pitching areas and the width across the pitchers box.
Pitchers box: Measures six feet by six feet. Elements include the pit, pitching platform and stake.
Pit: Should be no larger than 36X72 inches, and rules allow for a minimum size of 31X43 inches.
The stake: Should extend upward 14 to 15 inches with a slight tilt forward (about three inches).
Pitching platform: Should be 18 to 20.5 inches wide.
There are days when you can’t pitch no matter what you try to do, and there are days when everything you throw up there just works.”
To view photos of horseshoe competition at Virgle and Donra McCown’s Good Luck Courts west of Houston, click this link:
http://houstonherald.smugmug.com/Horseshoes-at-Good-Luck-Courts/
Links to national and state horseshoe websites:
http://www.horseshoepitching.com/wrld_rpt_14.html
http://www.horseshoepitching.com/