Horseshoe player returns victorious

STAFF WRITER

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A Portales senior recently returned victorious from a world-renowned tournament.

Rudy Garcia, 64, received a silver and bronze medal for horseshoes from the Huntsman World Senior Games, which was held Oct. 3-15 in Saint George, Utah — an achievement

Garcia

for a sport with which he has had a long history.

“I’ve been playing since I was little. My dad showed me. He showed me how to throw horseshoes when I was like 10 years old. I just stuck with it. Every time I got a chance to throw horseshoes, I’d throw horseshoes,” he said.

At the games, that lifetime experience paid off for Garcia, helping him score 40 percent of 100 in both singles (where he earned a silver) and double horseshoes (earning him a bronze).

“We shot by percentages. The best horseshoe pitcher was 60 percent. So at 60 out of 100 horseshoes, he’d make 60 ringers. My percentage is 40 percent. My partner from Alberta (Canada), he was like 20 percent, but they average it out,” he said.

The HWSG, Garcia said, was well-attended by seniors from across the world.

“There was 34 different countries there and 11,000 participants. In the horseshoes, there was maybe 100 participants,” he said.

According to Garcia, he began to play horseshoes in competitive tournaments after being approached by his friend, Linda Uttaro.

“She called me up and said, ‘How come you’re not in the (senior) Olympics?’ I told her I didn’t know anything about it. That was last year. I went to Roswell and competed up there last year, and I got first place at the horseshoes. Then I went this year to play the horseshoes in Roswell, and I got first place up there. I got two gold medals,” he said.

Garcia made it to the HWSG after competing in a Clovis tournament that qualified him to play in the 2016 New Mexico Senior Olympics Summer Games.

“If they know he’s going to compete, they get a little concerned because he’s quite a threat to everybody,” said Uttaro, who watched Garcia compete in Roswell.

Garcia, who competes at tournaments at Saint Helen’s Catholic Church in Portales, as well as in Clovis and Tucumcari, said that he plays horseshoes out of pure enjoyment but has also noticed a benefit to his health.

“I just love the sport. I enjoy challenges; I enjoy competition. Everybody in Clovis and Portales tries to beat me all the time,” he said. “It keeps me healthy; it keeps me going. If you play a lot of games, you get tired after the day.”

According to Uttaro, horseshoes helped motivate Garcia while allowing him to have fun.

“He has a positive attitude about everything. He really gets out there and gives it his all, and he enjoys what he does. You should see him with his grandkids; he’s probably the biggest kid in the group,” she said.