It's the Pits! Traditional Cache
thezerfi: horse shoe pits are gone!! ;o(
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Did you know? We had no idea... This game is thought to have descended from the ancient Greek sport of the discus throw. The story is that Greeks developed a sport where the discus was thrown at a stake. But many of the poorer people could not afford the discus so they used cast off horseshoes instead. At the time, horseshoes were actually round, with a hole in the middle. This evolved into the game of quoits (which uses a 4 pound iron ring in a manner similar to horseshoes). Quoits then spawned the game of horseshoes. Horseshoes in the United States was probably brought over by the early English settlers. But modern horseshoes might well be called "muleshoes" because it was spread by Union soldiers during the American Civil War playing the game with the discarded shoes of mules. The first world championship of horseshoe pitching took place in 1910 in Bronson, Kansas. At this event ringers counted five points, leaners three, and close shoes one. The first organization of Horseshoe pitchers was also in Kansas in 1914, making that state the home of American Horseshoe pitching. Standards were set regulating the size and weight of horseshoes (2 pounds to 2 pounds and 2 ounces). The stake was then ordered to stick 8 inches out of the ground. But it was not until 1920 that many of the more familiar rules were adopted such as cancellation scoring. The stake was also raised to 10 inches (leaning slightly toward the opposite stake). It was also at this time that extra points awarded for leaners was abolished. It is interesting that even today (nearly 100 years later) there is controversy among new players regarding the value of a "leaner". In the 1930s the stake was raised again to 15 inches. And the number of points for an official game went from 50 to 40 points. Today, the game is popular throughout the United States. It is estimated that more than 10 million people play horseshoes every year.
The find will require stealth as, depending on the time of the year, it is a high traffic area. Please replace exactly as found. BYOP!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gnxr n ybnq bss lbhe srrg sbe n srj zvahgrf!
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