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Ever think about Pit Material? We pitch horseshoes in sand, clay, and whatever other material is available. In sanctioned NHPA play some kind of clay material is required, but not always. The two most popular kinds are blue clay and potters clay. The gray clay found around our homes is not much good for pits. There are many different kinds of clay that come from all regions of the United States. I've done some research on clay since I was trying to find an indoor substance that wouldn't create a lot of dust. Here are some of my research conversations: One Tournament Director started using Processed Clay, two years ago in his indoor pits, for about 1 1/2 yrs. "It was very good when we first got it but after about three months it started getting black streaks in it and started to smell. Processed Clay is a mixture of brick pieces and sawdust mixed in with a natural clay mined from an old coal mine. The brick and sawdust hold the moisture. I tried 6 different clays and the best, that I'm using now, is the shale they used in the World Tournament in Greenville. Processed Clay didn't seem to hold down the dust much. I ventilate the courts and use sweeping compound when I clean up to hold down the dust. Teaching the pitchers how to water the clay and to pick up any spilled pieces of clay is very important." The Director would not recommend synthetic clay, "since shoes bounce too much, and the ringer averages will go down," he says. Another Tournament Director who owns and operates the his own Indoor Horseshoe
Courts, uses synthetic clay pit material. This synthetic clay
was sold and manufactured by Donnie Roberts, former world champion
and NHPA officer. The material is very expensive, $2.00 a lb.
The Director uses 100 lbs. per pit and has very small pits, $200
per pit. This synthetic clay material is also used in the Las
Vegas Tournament held during the winter months every year, (not
this year). It is not turned like real clay. If the material
bunches up, it is sliced off with a knife device and placed in
low spots. Warm weather makes it very sticky and cold weather
makes it bouncy. "I wouldn't recommend Processed Clay to
anyone, not much better than real clay," he says. The Director
started using synthetic clay because of the dust problem of real
clay in his building. |
clay. About two years ago we tried to
put in indoor courts, but the clay we were using was too hard
to clean off the floor. We had to scrape it off and the dust
was The reason for this research on processed and synthetic clay is simply DUST.
If you pitch indoors at Jackson you can see the haze hanging
in the rafters during the afternoon shift. The first time I pitched
indoors at Jackson I thought it was cigarette smoke. But, on
the first night of competition of the Mount Clemens Indoor Horseshoe
Pitchers Club, I saw the haze again. I knew it wasn't smoke because
we don't allow smoking in the building. It was clay dust. Therefore,
my research for a dustless substance. I found none that was within
justifiable cost range. However, I did get some help. Experienced
pitchers told me to mix dish soap with the water when sprinkling
the pits. We did, and it made the clay much better. The clay
doesn't stick to your shoes and the clay is much easier to work
in the pits. |