Fullerton retirement ringers buck horseshoe trend
Art Black at Morningside of Fullerton retirement community touts the health and social benefits of horseshoes.(Photo by Dave Dunn)
Art Black is the reigning ringer for pitching the 2.5-pound horseshoe at the opposing stake 30 feet away on the manicured turf courts at Morningside of Fullerton retirement community. (Photo by Dave Dunn)
By most accounts, the game of horseshoes is not as popular as in decades past, but you wouldn’t know it when you see the 17 hardcore horseshoers in the league at Morningside of Fullerton retirement community.
Art Black is the reigning ringer for pitching the 2.5-pound horseshoe at the opposing stake 30 feet away on the manicured turf courts at Morningside.
“Every little bit affects the game – moving your hold just a half inch on the shoe can make a big difference,” Black says.
“You don’t throw a shoe; you use a strong back throw and fluid arm swing like a pendulum.”
The roots of the game date back as early as 200 BC in Roman army camps. Horseshoes grew in popularity in the U.S. during the Civil War.
In the early 1900s, the first world tournament was held in America, along with the founding of the National Horseshoe Pitching Association, the official governing body of the game in the U.S. and Canada.
Today, the association has about 15,000 members. It’s estimated that more than 15 million horseshoe enthusiasts enjoy the game across the two countries. The Southern California charter has 18 horseshoe clubs.
“It’s a good, healthy outdoor sport to participate in,” says Black, who also notes the social benefits of the game and the camaraderie it evokes.
Today, regulation courts are 50 feet long, 10 feet wide and contain two pitcher’s boxes, both 6 feet square with a stake in the middle.
The Morningside ringers even have calipers on standby to get down and measure whose shoe is closer to the pin, sometimes a sheet of paper for differences down to a millimeter.
– Submitted by Dave Dunn
Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter celebrate progress on new building
Newport Beach has been constructing a new animal shelter, and Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter (FONBAS) hosted a “topping out” ceremony this summer celebrating the placement of the highest beam on the building.
Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter hosted a “topping out” ceremony celebrating the placement of the highest beam on the new animal shelter, which is under construction.(Photo courtesy of Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter)
The ceremony included installation of an American flag and a city of Newport Beach flag. Everyone present had the opportunity to sign a board to be enclosed in the construction that will become part of the permanent, albeit hidden, part of the shelter’s history.
The ceremony resulted in on-site donations and pledges of more than $100,000. That brings FONBAS closer to the goal of raising $3 million for the purchase of real property and the design and construction of the permanent animal shelter for Newport Beach. It’s website shows it has surpassed $2.9 million.
The new shelter will be a single-story, 1,600-square-foot building with a 750-square-foot kennel to house dogs, cats and other animals, plus parking, a front-yard greeting area and a secure rear-yard exercise area.
The current shelter is leased and lacks many amenities necessary in a modern animal facility. Around 500 animals are cared for each year at the current location.
Better care from staff and volunteers will be possible in the new state-of-the-art shelter. Animal services will go well beyond pet adoption to include housing for lost dogs and cats until they are reunited with their owners, dog licensing, coyote and wildlife management, quarantine in case of bites and more.
For more on FONBAS, go to FONBAS.org.
– Submitted by Friends of Newport Beach Animal Shelter
Local athletes win big abroad
Orange County athletes made headlines at the 21st World Maccabiah Games in Israel. Matthew Blam and Kaitlin Blam from Irvine represented team USA and earned medals in fencing.
Matthew Blam, a rising high school junior who attends the Orange County School of the Arts, competed in foil fencing and won a team silver medal. In addition to this summer’s Maccabiah Games, he competed in this year’s USA junior Olympic fencing championships and qualified to compete in this year’s USA fencing nationals.
Kaitlin Blam, a rising sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, also competes in foil fencing and won a team silver medal. This is her second time representing team USA at the Maccabiah Games. She won gold medals in gymnastics at the 2019 Pan-American Maccabi Games in Mexico City.
The Blams train at the South Coast Fencing Center in Santa Ana with coach Brenden Richard.
Meanwhile, Maddie Chao, 14, competed for the USA Girls Junior Gymnastics Team at the 21st World Maccabiah Games in Israel. Her five-person team of gymnasts from across the U.S. won a silver medal. Chao trains at South Coast Gymnastics in Irvine.
The Bravo! section highlights achievements of our residents and groups. Send news of achievements for consideration to ocrbravo@gmail.com.
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