5-year-old pitches in world horseshoe tournament

Kylie Foster likes Barbie dolls, coloring and roller skating just like many 5-year-olds.

The energetic young girl, however, enjoys something rare for kids her age - horseshoes.

Foster is the youngest participant in the 2010 National Horseshoe Pitchers Association World Tournament being held at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena through Aug. 7.

The sport has its place among the other more typical activities for a youngster.

“Horseshoes is my favorite game,” Foster said. “I like to play Barbies so much.”

Foster, of Mount Vernon, Ill., who turns six in October, is in the cadet division, playing against kids as old as nine. It's just her second event since starting to play this year. NHPA President Stuart Sipma said he is not sure if she's the youngest player ever, but was confident she is “one of the youngest” to compete in the tournament. Her sister, Chelbie Roethemeyer, 11, played in the junior division. Foster grasps the game well, considering she won't even start Kindergarten until the fall.

“For the most part (she understands),” Foster's mom, Carrie Loeb, said. “She puts all of her heart into it.”

Foster likes playing the game with family, throwing about three or four times a week. leading up to the tournament. She had a quick and simple response to her favorite part of the sport.

“Pitching,” said Foster, who throws a 2.4-pound horseshoe and plays in a division that pitches from 20 feet.

Her fun-loving personality was easy to identify as she bopped around and flashed a bright smile during her games.

Thursday night was quite memorable. In addition to the highlights of getting her picture taken and receiving a laminated strip of paper with her name on it used for scoring that she plans to display in an orange-and-gray tent she shares with her sister at home, Foster scored her first ringer ever. She triumphantly raised her arm in the air as her family cheered from the stands.

“It was exciting,” said Foster, who had a band-aid on her right shin helping her nurse an injury suffered after another pitcher's shoe hit her leg. “I thought, ‘I scored.'”

Her family does have a history in the sport. Her great grandfather, Paul Gibson, pitched horseshoes in 40 world tournaments. Her grandmother, Rose Gibson, was a junior world champion in 1973 and is returning to competition with her grandaughters and playing in her first world tournament in 30 years.

“That's why we're here,” Loeb said. “We're all coming together.”

Gibson, 58, of Salem, Ill., actually started teaching Foster and Roethemeyer the sport. She described Foster as a “grandma's girl” who has learned a lot in the short time playing.

“I'm teaching her quite a bit,” Gibson said. “She listens to me pretty well.”

Horseshoe is similar to golf, according to Gibson. It is an activity that people of all ages to play, which Gibson and her granddaughters demonstrate. For Gibson, it's a way to pass on a tradition to the next generation.

“They watched me and wanted to play,” Gibson said. “I thought it would be something fun for the whole family to do because horseshoes is for the whole family. It's for everyone.”