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DEADLY RINGER Al Gushta is 76 — and he is a national horseshoes champion Dave Eagles/KTW
By Marty Hastings STAFF REPORTER
sports@kamloopsthisweek.com
A
L GUSHTA will tell you pin-seeking is not reserved for golfers — it’s a horseshoes thing, too. The 76-year-old Kamloops resident won the elder men’s B title at the national horseshoes championships, held from July 11 to July 14 in Saskatoon. His accomplishment might have soared under the radar if it wasn’t for his wife, Anne. “It’s my wife that phones the newspapers and tells them, ‘Hey, my husband just won the Canadian championships. I want somebody to know about this.’” Gushta was transferred to Vancouver from his Canadian
National Railway post in Winnipeg in 1958. He moved to Kamloops in 1960 and caught on with Weyerhauser. He worked at the pulp mill for 33 years and retired in 1989. Horseshoes became a part of Gushta’s life in 1979, when his motherin-law introduced him to the game. “I started playing and I got better and better and better, and I kind of enjoyed it,” he said. Gushta won his first provincial title — in the men’s D division — in 1995. He has since won
two men’s provincial B titles and a provincial men’s C championship. He also finished second in the men’s A division at provincials in 1999. Gushta made the jump to the elders’ division last year. Reserved for those 65 and older, pitchers in the elders’ division throw at a pin 30 feet away, as opposed to 40 feet in the men’s category. Horseshoe throwers are graded on their ringer percentage. At nationals, 55.9 per cent of Gushta’s throws hit the mark. “At the end, my percentage was higher than half of the A gang’s,” said Gushta, who will make the jump to the elder men’s A division in 2013. “I had a really
good weekend.” Gushta posted a 12-2 record. Don Courville of Alberta placed second with an 11-3 mark. The Winnipeg product said he has enjoyed the spotlight of late, if only because it’s drawn attention to the Kamloops Horseshoes Club. “Our club is not doing too good membership-wise,” Gushta said. “I think we’ve got about 12 people. “Kamloops never was that much of a horseshoes town, but we had as high as 20 at one time.” The club, located on River Street, has Al — and Anne — to thank for much of its recent ink. “I was just so proud of him,” Anne said.
Dave Eagles/KTW