Making space for horseshoe pits

How to make a horseshoe court on limited property

By Pat Lynch

If your desire to pitch shoes is bigger than the flat space on your hilly cottage property, don't despair. With a little ingenuity, you can transform your limited level location into a hideaway horseshoe court in time for some summer flinging. 

Simply measure off the pits with 40 feet between posts, and dig holes large enough to accommodate a 6" sonotube, 18 inches deep. Fill the sonotube with concrete, stopping four inches shy of the existing grade. Set a one-foot length of 1" (inside diameter) galvanized pipe, threaded end up, into the poured concrete, pushing it in as far as possible, but making sure the threads remain clear of the surface. (Duct tape the bottom end of the pipe first to ensure that the concrete mix doesn't fill it up.) This pipe will serve as a sleeve for the removable post that your horseshoes should be ringing off all summer long. 

Once the concrete has set, slide a three-foot length of 1" iron bar into the sleeve, cutting it off 14–15 inches above the pit's final grade. That'll keep your pit posts at official height, silencing the excuses of errant shoe-tossers. Cut away the excess sonotube and use a shovel to loosen up the top six inches of earth surrounding the post in a rectangle measuring six feet (in the direction the shoes are thrown) by three feet across, making sure to adequately cover the concrete with loose soil. The iron post can be removed whenever you need to use the area for another purpose, like parking your car or stringing up the volleyball net. Pull out the bar, screw a 1" cap on the end of the sleeve, and bury it until the next time you hear a ringer calling your name. 

- Pat Lynch

Published in the March 2002 issue of Cottage Life magazine.

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