MINNESOTA HORSESHOE PITCHERS'

Ringer Digest

April-May-June 2026

A Charter of the NHPA

Official Publication of the Minnesota Gopher State Horseshoe Pitchers' Association

The 2026 Horseshoe Season Update

By Janet Roubinek MGSHPA Sec/Treas

Season Kickoff

The 2026 Horseshoe season has already begun. The enthusiasm is clear from the many smiling faces captured in shared photos. Thank you to all the pitchers who have contributed pictures, allowing everyone to enjoy these moments together.

Gratitude for Generosity

I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the horseshoe family who donated funds to cover the remaining payback amount for the new computers. This generous family has chosen to remain anonymous, and I fully respect their request for privacy.

Membership Renewals

Membership renewals are steadily coming in. If anyone needs assistance with the renewal process, please reach out by sending a message, and I will respond as soon as possible. For those sending a check by mail, I will contact you once your renewal is completed and the check has been deposited.

Junior Fund Contributions

Sanctioned leagues are reminded to send $1 per pitcher to support the junior fund.

State Tournament Fund Contributions

Tournament directors should send $1 per pitcher to contribute to the State Tournament fund.

Updating Member Information

The MGSHPA is committed to maintaining up-to-date information for all pitchers. If you have a new address or phone number, please let me know so I can update your details in eshoe.

From the President

By Russ Girtz

Greetings to all current, former, and future players!

It’s exciting to see how many pitchers are helping grow the game—whether in backyards, at family gatherings, informal events, or sanctioned tournaments. With a premier World Tournament event just a few short hours away for many of us, now is the time to step up, compete, and most importantly, enjoy the game we love.

Indoor Leagues Are Alive and Growing

A huge thank-you to everyone who traveled to participate in our indoor leagues and tournaments—both formal and informal. Your commitment is building real momentum. Here’s your challenge: find a building in your area that can host winter games. Even two courts can spark new leagues, create more practice opportunities, and elevate everyone’s play.

Local indoor courts also provide the perfect environment to welcome new players—youth and adults alike—into the sport and help them develop skills in a supportive setting.

Special thanks to the Smiths for opening their building for multiple winter tournaments and open pitching opportunities. Their generosity has made a meaningful impact. The Upsala League continues to thrive as well, showcasing strong pitching and consistently competitive play.

The tournaments in Becker have gained strong visibility thanks to Michelle’s social media savvy, helping showcase our events far beyond the courts. In addition, we continue to connect with youth players and introduce them to the fundamentals of the game—an exciting and important investment in our future.

World Tournament – Join the Team!

There’s still time to be part of something big. Nearly 100 Minnesota pitchers are already registered for the World Tournament in Wausau this July, and we’d love to see even more of you competing alongside them. We can help you find the qualifying events you need and are willing to create custom tournaments that fit your schedule.

State Tournament 2026 – Labor Day Weekend

Mark your calendars and plan to join us in Genola for the State Championships over Labor Day Weekend. Bring your horseshoe friends and family and be part of a full weekend of competition, community, and championship pitching.

Play begins on Friday and concludes on Sunday with the crowning of multiple State Champions. The banquet will feature a great meal, recognition of accomplishments from the year, and the chance to enjoy the camaraderie that makes our pitching community special.

Leadership Opportunities Available

If you’re looking to give back and help move our organization forward, consider serving in a leadership role. Officer positions and committee support roles are available, and your involvement truly matters. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or to explore how you can serve our members.

Let’s keep building the game—together—on the courts, in our communities, and through the next generation of players.

From the Editor

By Jerry LaBrosse

Current entry numbers are showing a strong Minnesota representation at 74 players. Our goal was 100 so if there are still some of you out there on the fence and not sure if you want to enter, get your qualifying events done and get entered. If you want to enter but need more events, there are still opportunities to make it happen. Contact our NHPA Regional Director Josh Olson for information on how to setup and run a qualifying event.

I have been to many world tournaments and I can assure you that it is the best horseshoe tournament experience you will ever enjoy.

Regional Director / Stats Guy

By Josh Olson

The weather is finally starting to warm up; I am looking forward to the first outdoor tournament on my schedule this year. Don’t forget to check out the website or eShoe for the upcoming spring/summer schedule of tournaments here in Minnesota! Doesn’t hurt to get a few in before the World Tournament to stay focused and in tip top performance. Speaking of the world tournament. Don’t forget to get signed up for World!! As I am putting this article together, we are at 72 signed up that are from Minnesota, let’s try and get to 100 Minnesotans!!! You can get the online signup right from our website or by visiting the NHPA website as well to get signed up. We have a few months left to go, ARE YOU SIGNED UP YET?

Let’s wish the following Teams good luck that are participating in Beloit for the annual Team World Tournament in May!

Top Ten POY Standings as of April 1st

South Vice President

by Jeff Washburn

Happy Spring to all MGSHPA pitchers, families, and friends. The weather continues to be a roller coaster for Minnesotans.  70 one day and 30 the next. What else can we expect?  Golf courses are starting to open and the summer horseshoe season is right around the corner. This means many clubs will be scheduling their spring meetings and more tournament information will be posted on the MGSHPA website. If you haven’t done so, now is a great time to renew your 2025 NHPA/MGSHPA membership. Just go to our MGSHPA website and click on the renew tab and it will take you right to Eshoe.   A reminder for any pitcher who may be changing category, such as Men to Elder Men, or Women to Elder Women, to please contact our State Secretary/Treasurer Janet Roubinek so she can make that change in Eshoe. You can also print a copy of the 2025 registration form and mail this along with your check to Janet Roubinek, whose address can be found on our MGSHPA website. The 2026 dues remain at $50.00

Sign up for the World Tournament in Wausau, Wisconsin is going strong. As of today, March 27^th, 634 have signed up and 74 from Minnesota. Team World is also coming up in mid May in Beloit, Wisconsin, and Minnesota has entered 4 teams.

I have a sad update on the West St. Paul horseshoe court situation, for those that have been following this.  After 45 years, the City of W. St. Paul has now removed all of the courts with the plan to repurpose the pavilion to include other activities such as the arts, dance, music and other family related functions. The good news is that club members from Montgomery, Mankato, Brooklyn Park, and Ramsey County have taken the covers, stakes, and clay to be used at their respective courts.

To help grow our sport, let’s everyone try and encourage a neighbor or friend to consider giving horseshoes a try this summer.  For new prospective members who might be interested in joining, the NHPA has a Provisional membership and a Trial membership that do not require full payment of dues. It is an easy and inexpensive way to try horseshoes out for one season or one tournament. Contact me or any officer if you would like more information on this.

Take a look at the MGSHPA website which has a full complement of horseshoe tournaments in 2026.  I would encourage all our members to plan your summer pitching schedules to include some of the many fine tournament opportunities across our state. A friendly reminder that our spring membership meeting will be held in between shifts at the Bud Nelson-Forest Lake tournament on Saturday, May 30^th. Please try and attend the meeting and sign up to pitch.  See you on the courts!

Nominations Being Accepted

By Helen Hawkinson

FOREST LAKE HORSESHOE CLUB MEETING: April 11, 2026, at 11:00 am at the FL VFW. Please stay to hang club signs and put out shovels and clean up pits after the meeting. The league will be singles on Mondays and doubles on Thursdays starting at 6:30 pm each night. This year with your entry fee you will receive a new FL sanction tournament ready

 t-shirt for signing up.  

Happy Spring everyone! It’s not too early to start thinking about who you want to nominate for the Hall of Fame, Edie Holland (sportsmanship award), Rookie of the Year and Scholarship Awards.  

As a small reminder, the deadlines and forms for the awards are on the MGSHPA Website and are located here: www.minnesotahorseshoes.com/links-forms . The deadline for the Hall of Fame is May 1st every year. The deadline the Scholarship Award is June 15th every year.  The Edie Holland is a very special award that you should think about nominating a special pitcher for.  Think about who you would like to nominate and send me the completed forms.  

The previous award recipients for the Hall of Fame is also on the website. I have put a snip-it of the winners on this page for your information. There are a lot of tournaments that you can enter. It’s a great way to meet new people.  Get out there and pitch! See you on the Courts.

Helen

Upsala Winter League 2026

by Janet Larson

We started our season on January 5th with 16 regular pitchers and 5 subs. Pitching singles, our subs are well utilized, as we like to keep all 8 of our courts full. For health reasons, two of our regulars dropped out after the 3rd week, luckily we were able to find two more fulltime subs, which meant that we had 23 people participate in our league this year. Also unique to this league, the standings are decided by percentage of wins, provided you pitched at least half of the weeks of play. After 11 weeks of round robin play, Janet Larson finished on top with 74% wins, Gary Boots finished 2nd with 70% wins, and Jerry Werk narrowly beat out Tim Brigner and Brian Wipper to finish 3rd. Only five of our pitchers were able to be there all 11 weeks, which is another reason we love our subs. Gary Boots finished with the highest ringer average, 58.41%, boosted by four high games of 75%. Pat Stumpf earned High Game Over Average (%) with an 80% game. Tom Lashinski was awarded High Game (points) with a game of 111 points. Tom also received the Rookie of the Year patch. Carolyn Brigner earned Most Improved and it was decided by vote to give the Sportsmanship award to Tony Ohman. Pat Stumpf received her 2025 National Top Ten Certificate, being recognized in four different categories. 

Our final week of play consisted of our Class Tournament and Playoff games. Gary Boots came out on top in Class A, pitching a high game of 70% and averaging 66.6%. He managed to accomplish this remarkable feat with his left arm in a splint and a sling. Roger Lodermeier won Class B, Walt Beneke claimed Class C and Randy Danzl finished on top in Class D. These four then went on to do one final round robin against each other. The winner of that Playoff competition was Walt Beneke with 2 close wins and a tie.

Myron Vanderweyst, our fearless leader, was one of the pitchers that had to drop out after three weeks for health reasons. He and his wife Linda still managed to stay involved, keeping all of our stats and getting our final day of pitching and awards organized. All of us thank you for such commitment and determination. We wish everyone the best of luck in your summer pitching seasons.  

Alexandria Horseshoe League 2026 Spring News

By Janet Larson

Our league will have its spring organizational meeting on Wednesday April 22nd at 6:00pm. It will be held in one of the Douglas County Library meeting rooms located at 720 Fillmore St in Alexandria MN. We welcome new members and we will be making plans for our summer season. During the month of May we will continue to welcome new pitchers to join us at our courts, located in Curtis Felt Memorial Park, for “Give Horseshoes a Try”. Simply show up on Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm to see if horseshoes might be something that would interest you. Our current members will be happy to get you started and give you pointers.  

Promotion and News Media

By Michelle Foard 

  Happy Spring! It's that time of year to get ready for leagues! Keep in mind good old word of mouth still works. Invite friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and kids. Remember kids play for free. Perhaps run an intro to horseshoes night for people to try it and see if they like it. Also think about posting flyers at restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, church and work. Another helpful resource is Facebook. Post photos of your pits and talk about joining on your local community FB page. For me I post in Brooklyn Park, but I also post on other surrounding cities as well. I did have some luck with people joining last year. 

  The deadline to sign up for the World Tournament is fast approaching. May 18th is the last day to sign up. All tournaments must be completed by then as well. Russ and I have been working hard getting in as many of you as we can to get your tournaments in. I wanna thank those who dropped out to make room for others who needed tournaments. I appreciate you doing that. Russ and I also ran 2 extra Friday night tournaments to get more people in. If you still need a tournament before the deadline please reach out to Russ or I. We would be willing to squeeze a tournament in. So far we have 74 people from Mn signed up! A total of 634 all together. I know many sign up last minute. This will be a big World Tournament. If you have questions on how things are run please feel free to reach out to me. I know this is the first World for many of you. I can answer most questions and if not I will get you an answer. The schedule will be out at the end of May. As far as reservations you can book for both weeks and then once the schedule comes out you can cancel extra days. You will pitch 3 days and will be required to wear a tournament shirt each day with your name and state on it. I am excited to see so many of you going. Again if you have any questions feel free to reach out. 

 May 30th will be our Spring State Meeting in Forest Lake. It will be around 12pm in between shifts. Come on up. We will discuss any rule proposals that will come up at World. So you can voice your opinion and let us know how you want the delegates to vote. Also if you would like to be a delegate at the World come to the meeting and let us know. Anyone can attend the meeting at World, but only delegates can vote. 

  Also both North and South Vice President positions are up for a vote. Both Jeff Washburn and Rory Pierce are stepping down at the end of the year. Now is your time to step up and join the State Officers. 

 Brooklyn Park league meeting will be April 22nd at 6:30pm. At Brooklyn Park City Hall 5200 85th Ave N Brooklyn Park, Mn 55443. Meeting will be in room B107. We pitch Mon and Tue nights at 6pm. We play singles so if you miss a night no big deal. If you have questions feel free to reach out to me. 

The Becker Winter League

Back row: Don Claseman, Al Springer, Brian Wipper, Dennis Barut, Michael Hoffman, Russ Girtz, Rich Kvamme, Paul Secord, David Losen, Anthony Stach. Front row: Brad Heth, Colin Wanous, Dale Novotny, Steve Barron and Michelle Foard.

Winter Washout Tournament

Snowshoe Tournament

A Class

2nd Marlys Timm, 1st Rich Kvamme, 3rd Janet Larson 

B Class

2nd Barry Schilling, 1st Michael Hoffman, 3rd Carrie Kowalczyk 

C Class

2nd Mike Timm, 1st Dale Novotny, 3rd Steve Barron 

Cupid's Heart Tournament

A Class

2nd Minnie Fischer, 1st Marlys Timm, 3rd Janet Larson

B Class

 2nd Michael Hoffman, 1st James Kiffmeyer, 3rd Don Claseman 

C Class

 2nd Ron Thom, 1st Dale Novotny, 3rd Steve Barron

Shamrock Tournament

Pot of Gold Tournament

A Class

2nd Russ Girtz, 1st Gary Boots, 3rd Marlys Timm

B Class

 2nd Sarah Nelson, 1st Brian Wipper, 3rd Ron Thom

C Class

 2nd Mike Timm, 1st Dale Novotny, 3rd Colleen Szabo 

Shoebox 8 Tournament

Class A

1^st Josh Olson 2^nd Harvey Burkman 3^rd Tom Prokop

Class B

 1^st Janet Larson 2^nd Minnie Fischer 3^rd Sandy Lease

Class C

1^st Ron Mead 2^nd Matthew Henning 3^rd Carrie Kowalczyk

Shoebox 9 Tournament

Class A

Gary Boots 1st Harvey Burkman 2nd Tom Prokop 3rd

Class B

Tim Brigner 1st Brian Wipper 2nd Michelle Foard 3rd

Class C

Dale Novotny 1st Michael Timm 2nd Steve Barron 3rd

Shoebox 10 Tournament

Class A

1st Gary Boots 2nd Harvey Burkman 3rd Janet Larson

Class B

1st Carrie Kowalczyk 2nd David Losen 3rd Cyndi Stepka 

Class C

1st John Hustings 2nd Michael Timm 3rd Jameson Klein

Publishing Schedule for the MGSHPA Ringer Digest

January-February-March

April-May-June

July-August-September-October

State Tournament Issue

November-December

Send all digest materials to the Editor

Jerry LaBrosse  Jlabro6186@aol.com