The three have a combined 76 years of competitive horseshoe pitching behind them.

Bill Enslen of Prospect, Dewayne "Buck" Majors of Harmony and Butch Neff of Chicora, all veteran members of the Butler County Horseshoe League, had never won a state championship, however.

Until this year.

Enslen won the Class C title, Majors the Class E crown and Neff the Class B title earlier this month at the annual Pennsylvania State Horseshoe Championships in Beaver.

The state horseshoe championships have existed in Pennsylvania in one form or another since 1918.

"Three of us bringing back state titles - that reflects well on our league," Enslen said.

Players must participate in at least three horseshoe tournaments - separate from league play - to be eligible to enter the state event. The state entries are then placed in groups of eight players, based on their percentage of ringers thrown during the year.

Class A represents the top eight players in the state, Class B the second-best group, etc. Each player takes on each of the other seven in his class one on one. The best overall won-lost record after the round-robin format is complete is declared the state champion of that class.

Majors, 68, won the Class E title, which featuring ringer percentages of 37.19 through 39.10, by defeating all seven of his opponents.

"I've probably been pitching 'shoes for 18 years or so in the league," Majors said. "I grew up pitching horseshoes, so I've been around it all my life.

"Some friends asked me to join the league 18 years ago, and I've stayed with it."

Majors finished second in the senior division at the 2002 state championships, also held in Beaver. That's the only other time he's entered the state competition.

"It was practically in my backyard those two years," he said.

The regulation distance in horseshoes is 40 feet between stakes. When a player turns 70, he's allowed to move as close as 30 feet.

Majors said he doubts he'll take advantage of that rule.

"I'm in pretty good shape and I'm used to this distance," he said. "A lot of older fellas never move up."

Enslen, 46, won the Class C title, which involves pitchers with ringer averages of 44.43 to 47.21 percent.

He won an indoor state title in 1996 and finished second in the outdoor state meet in 1993 and 2002.

"It feels good to finally get one," Enslen said. "We had a three-way tie in my class, and since I shot the highest percentage (46 percent) during the tournament, I got to sit out the first round of the tie-breaker."

He won the second round - and was well-prepared for the competition.

"I tossed 200 horseshoes a day for three weeks leading up to this," Enslen said. "If you want to compete, you have to be ready. These guys don't fool around."

Neff, 60, won Class B, for those with ringer percentages of 48.06 to 52.1, by scoring a ringer on 55.5 percent of his shots during the state meet.

He defeated all seven of his opponents, tossing ringers on 192 of 346 shots overall.

"They say if you can hit over 50 percent, you're among the top 10 percent in the world," Neff said. "So I was real happy with that."

Neff has been involved in competitive horseshoes for 43 years and recently received his 10-year patch from the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association.

He won tournaments at Carnegie and Uniontown earlier this year.

"I probably averaged 52 percent for the year, which is pretty consistent," Neff said. "People don't realize what it takes to win a (state) title in this sport.

"I tied for first five years ago and lost in a playoff. It took me this long to get back up there."

Neff said horseshoe pitching is tossing a shoe with a 3½-inch opening around a one-inch stake from 40 feet away.

"Like any other sport, it takes concentration and practice … and a whole lot of precision," he said.