Horseshoe Pit Dimensions

Horseshoes is a game involving four horseshoes and 2 stakes. The game progresses by players taking turns in stretching out with force. A player takes a leap at the stakes on the ground typically placed 40 feet apart. In crude sense, there is a wooden pole and you have to aim the horseshoe in that pole or stake. There is a pit in this game, which is the area where the scoring takes place. Consequently its dimensions can make or break the game for a player in the court. Following text will tell you more about this outdoor activity.

Dimensions for Horseshoe Pit

This pit is a part of the pitcher's box. The back of one pitching box has to be 46 feet from the back of the other. A pitching platform can extend from 18 to 20.5 inches in width. These dimensions have been prescribed in a manner such that the stake does not get too close or too far for the player. This is because the players do not want to lose out on points, and why would they!

Length and Width: When measured from inside, however, the pit must be a minimum 43 inches long but should not exceed 72 inches. With regards to the width of the pit, the pit's inner measurement must be 31 inches and it should not be more than 36 inches. The court's center line is the spot where it should be placed or made. Stakes must be fixed at the exact center of the pitcher's box and are very important as that is the player's target. The substance in the pit, either clay, dirt or sand or any synthetic material has to be minimum 4 inches in depth. In case of ground level pits, the officially prescribed depth is 8 inches, according to the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

Side Boards: If side boards are more than 7 inches, they should be avoided, as the side boards are not advised due to safety reasons. According to the official dimensions, the frame of the pit should not be more than 7 inches above the pitching platform height. A pit box is framed using wooden boards. The 36 inch boards have to be perpendicular to the playing area. Each of the pit should have a board two feet in front and two feet behind stake. Similarly, there are 48 inch boards which need to be kept at either sides of the stake. Now this will imply, considering the total length of the pit to be 48 inches, that the actual distance between the two stakes would be 44 inches. Another important thing is that the metal stake should be fixed in the exact center of the pit.

How to Build a Horseshoe Pit

Supplies
Two six-foot-long treated wood 2x4 or 2x6s; cut in half, two eight-foot-long treated wood 2x4s or 2x6s; cut in half, several bags of sand (enough to fill two 36x48 inch boxes at least 3-4 inches deep), two three-foot-long steel posts (about an inch in diameter) and 16-24 exterior (deck) screws (2 1/2 inch long, approx.). The tools you would need are electric drill with screw driver, sledge hammer, shovel, measuring tape and saw.

Procedure
Pitch 1: Once you assemble all the supplies, start off with making the frame for your pit. Grab the two 36 inch boards and two 48 inch boards and form a rectangle. For making a single frame, screw together the pieces at corners. Now do the same thing for another frame, by overlapping ends in the same direction for the two frames to have same dimensions.

Pitch 2: Take measurements of the building area, you would need 48 feet distance form the back of one pitching area to the back of the other. The width needed would be six feet. But do not forget, as mentioned, that you would need 2 feet of open space behind each box.

Pitch 3: At the ends of the playing area, center each box sideways, with fronts being 36 feet apart. The playing area should be parallel to the side of the boxes which is longer.

Pitch 4: For getting an idea as to where to dig, mark the boundary of each of the boxes on the grass using spray paint, flour, lime or anything conveniently available. Once you do that, remove the boxes.

Pitch 5: Whatever you do, you are going to trample the grass in the pit area. Therefore, do not worry just dig in the grass and dig down in a rectangular shape. This will make the level of the frame top a little bit lower than the grass. A bowl shaped hole would be convenient later to keep the sand in place.

Pitch 6: Now place the frame in the crater and anchor the iron stake in the center of the pit. Make it lean toward the other stake slightly, around 3 inches. When you pound it down with the hammer, make sure that 13 to 15 inch of the stake protrudes above the ground, outside the pit.

Pitch 7: Fill the frame with sand while keeping in mind the earlier point. However, you cannot measure every time the sand is moved, so you can compromise a bit on seeing whether the stake is jutting out 13.5 inches or 15.5 inches outside the pit. No need to be finicky about that.

Pitch 8: Finally, go to the spot where you have marked the second box and carry out the steps 5, 6 and 7 again for the other pit area.

In case you want to experiment, you can always look up to various designs. Primarily, if you are clear about the pit dimensions then it gets easier to build one.