Local twins Mar Ray and Max Griffith are legends in the world of horseshoe pitching.
When they took part in the National Horseshoe Pitcher Association World Tournament last week in Wichita Falls, Texas, they met a 20-year-old from Canada named Lindsay Hodgins who was taking part in the event for the first time.
She was, of course, very familiar with the twins.
“Oh yeah, she knew who we were,” Ray said. “The Tennessee twins.”
That’s been their moniker for a long time and for good reason. They’ve been touring the country for the better part of two decades and have won countless titles.
Griffith won the world title for the first time during last year’s event in South Carolina. She finished fifth last week in Texas.
Ray nearly won her first world title, but had to settle for second for the third time. She beat Hodgins a couple of times but lost to her in a finals playoff.
Griffith was in third place and Ray was first after the preliminary rounds. The event lasts six days and Ray and Griffith estimated they pitched about 2,000 horseshoes each day.
The twins, who are from upstate New York, started getting serious about the sport while attending college at Lambuth University. Ray retired from teaching in 2015 and Griffith retired a year later.
With more spare time, they’ve been even more active on the horseshoe circuit, attending about 12 tournaments a year. The twins have competed in a combined 37 world championship events, which are held every year at various spots around the country.
Their father, mother and grandfather turned them on to the sport at a young age. Walter Shackleton, their grandfather, was a New York state champ.
In 1992, Griffith and Ray started a state horseshoe pitching organization for women and both women have been inducted into various halls of fame. Both women, who are 65, are in the Tennessee Horseshoe Pitchers Hall of Fame. They were the first women honored.
Griffith is currently ranked number one in the world and Ray is third.
They are also nominated for the Horseshoe Pitching World Hall of Fame and will find out next month if they are inducted.
In the mean time, they’ll keep pitching, no matter how young the competition is.
“We’ll know when it’s time to quit,” Griffith said.
With a laugh, Ray said, “If these girls keep getting younger it may be pretty soon.”
