HOOKER — Snow doesn't stop these guys.

Only parking problems, do.

Winter is not a time for horseshoes, unless you are a member of the Hooker Indoor Horseshoe League.

Hooker native and league president Larry Steiner formed the league in 1982 as a way to circumvent Mother Nature and make pitching horseshoes a year-round event in Western Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, the second half of the indoor season was canceled because of parking issues.

Players had parked at a nearby business, but the owner informed Steiner that, because of liability concerns from his insurance company, the league could no longer use the lot.

"We're trying to find a solution for next year," Steiner said.

It's been the only dead shoe in a series of ringers for the league, which has had as many as 44 members pitching on any given league day.

"It's kind of dropped off a little bit," Steiner said. "But it's still pretty popular."

Horseshoe leagues are nothing new to Butler County.

Butler resident Chuck Young has been pitching shoes in a league since 1957. He has the county record for highest ringer percentage in a season at 72 percent.

"My dad was one of the original people in the league in 1954," said Young, 65. "That's how I started playing."

The summer horseshoe league starts May 1. There are more than 250 players county wide who participate in that league.

Teams can have as many as 25 members and at least 12 team members are required to play a full game.

"There are four guys to a pit and you play 18 games per night," Steiner said. "It's like any other team sport. You do have to have a bench."

To Steiner, the draw of the game has to do with its general simplicity and the different people the sport attracts.

He said there are people as young as 12 in the league and as old as 80. There is even one player who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident.

"It's a sports anyone can do," Steiner said. "Anyone can pitch a horseshoe. It doesn't matter what your skill level is. You can enjoy it."

Steiner seems to enjoy it more than others.

He attends horseshoe competitions throughout the country. He's pitched shoes in places such as Minnesota, Ohio and Wyoming. In 2008, the world horseshoe tournament will take place in York.

Steiner has finished fifth in the world several times.

At the championships, divisions are broken down based on skill levels. Steiner said his ringer average used to be around 70 percent.

There's a method to throwing a horseshoe, though.

There's the end over end throw — called a flip-flop shot, which is not recommended by the horseshoe pitching elite.

"It's hard to get a ringer that way," Young said.

When Young pitches his horseshoe, he throws a turn and a quarter. His shoe rotates once and another quarter of a turn.

He said that makes it easier to throw a ringer.

"If you catch the stake it just spins around and around," Young said. "It keeps it on the stake."

Steiner throws a turn and a half. Other pitchers throw a three-and-three-quarters turn.

Young said he throws the same kind of shoe no matter the situation.

While Young said he is competitive, it's not all about winning for him.

"It's about getting out and having fun," he said. "It's about the camaraderie for me."

And getting as close to a ringer as he can. After all, close is only good enough in horseshoes and hand grenades.