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Hines Happily Hucks Horseshoes in Deep River

Like many people, Gerald Hines was introduced to horseshoes by his family while playing in the backyard as a youngster. As fun as that was for Gerald, it wasn’t until his friends in Higganum encouraged him to get involved with the Haddam Horseshoe League that Gerald began to throw shoes on a regular basis. That was 40 years ago, before Gerald retired from being a shift supervisor at Northeast Utilities. In the time since then, Gerald has become a mainstay in the Deep River Horseshoe League (DRHL).

“We did it as kids with uncles and parents throwing horseshoes in the backyard. The knowledge of the sport came from there,” says Gerald, who lives in Higganum. “That was many, many years ago. I only started throwing shoes again about 40 years ago. A couple of friends in Higganum got me back into it. They wanted to start a league in Higganum. Thought it would be a good idea to come down to Deep River, as well.”

Each team in the DRHL features one player from each of the A, B, and C divisions. The A Division is the top tier, and the determining factor behind which division a player competes in is based on his or her ringer percentage. Gerald is a B Division player for the Yankees, joining forces with A Division player Mike Zanelli Sr., and C Division player Ken Fox. The Yankees are currently trying to lock down a spot in this year’s league playoffs.

While Gerald loves throwing horseshoes, he’s not necessarily concerned with his statistics or his team’s playoff positioning. Instead, Gerald cares more about the people he meets, along with the fact that competing in the league helps him keep fit, while enjoying the outdoors.

“I very seldom pay attention to the stats,” Gerald says. “Horseshoes for me is a great way to get exercise, and I’ve met some good friends playing horseshoes. It’s fun. It’s a good time. It gets you out of the house and away from the yard work, which can be monotonous.”

Gerald is a member of multiple horseshoe leagues and participates in the tournaments throughout the region. Some of those tournaments feature hundreds of throwers.

“I play twice a week at least, and sometimes I’ll be at a tournament on the weekend,” says Gerald. “I had a lot of fun in Buffalo, New York a couple of years ago at a world tournament. I got sixth place out of 15 men in my class, which isn’t bad. That’s probably my greatest accomplishment. There were 800-and-some-odd people playing in all different classes. The world tournaments are usually 800 to 1,000 people. You get guys from all over.”

As a result of playing horseshoes for so many years, Gerald knows the difference between when his throwing motion is right and when he’s off a little bit. Gerald says that consistent repetition is the key.

“I’ve played so long now that I can tell pretty much when it’s in the air if it’s a ringer,” he says. “There’s a lot of discipline involved, believe me, to try to get that repetitive throw. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you can have a good game and, other times, you can totally fail.”

Gerald enjoys watching his colleagues display their skills in the DRHL. He encourages anyone who wants to have a good time to head on down to the Deep River Congregational Church on a Thursday night to try and get in a game as a substitute.

“They can come down to the league and see if there’s an opening and if there’s a sub needed. That will get you started in the league, if you come down and see one of the officers of the club,” says Gerald. “Most of the time we need as many subs as we can get. There are 20 teams, so that’s 60 people you need every Thursday night. Someone is always on vacation or has something else to do, so we always need subs.”

DRHL President Frank Jolly likes having Gerald in the league, and not just because he’s a fun person to be around. Jolly also appreciates how Gerald tries to get other people to join the league through word of mouth.

“He’s a great guy, really nice, and wonderful to have in the league. He’s one of the elder statesmen,” Jolly says. “Some people get nervous when you ask them to do an interview and don’t want to do it, but he’s a great guy to talk to, and was happy to talk when I asked him.”

In turn, Gerald expresses great gratitude to the DRHL’s organizers for all of their hard work, which includes keeping stat sheets for the players, as well as urging new people to come out for the league.

“The Deep River League is doing a real good job working their hearts out to get people to come down and play,” Gerald says. “Frank Jolly has done a very good job in his position, and the vice president and the coordinators are doing alright, as well. It’s tough, because you don’t know how it’s going to work out. It’s tough to have those positions, but they’re doing a great job.”

In the end, Gerald feels happy to simply get in the pits and toss some horseshoes with his friends and teammates. These days, Gerald enjoys the camaraderie more than the competition.

“I’m retired and have been for 20 years. It’s a pleasure sport now for me,” says Gerald. “I’m getting up in years. You can’t beat these young guys. I don’t have that killer instinct anymore. I find the La-Z-Boy is more becoming to me now.”