Women throw down: Top two on collision course for Saturday
By Connor Doyle - Assistant Sports Editor
Pocatello Journal (Idaho) - published online on Friday, August 06, 2004
About the 2004 World Tournament

POCATELLO - The two women standing, intermittently swinging their arms like metronomes, are a study in opposites. One, in a white polo shirt with a Tommy Hilfiger hat, appears to be on edge, staring angrily at the ground when she isn't pitching. The other, in a gray loose-fitting T-shirt, has the expression of someone watching an accounting seminar. The tense one is Becky Kemper, a former World Horseshoe Pitching Champion trying to pull herself out a slump at this year's tournament, a slump so bad her ringer percentage had dropped more than 15 points. The relaxed - maybe even bored one - is Sylvianne Moisan, the defending champ and favorite to win her fifth world title at Holt Arena, Saturday.

The only way Moisan doesn't get her five-peat is if she stumbles in a match this week, likely against an opponent like Kemper that may lack her consistency but can get on a hot streak. That, or in a Saturday match against Joan Elmore, who stands as the champ's stiffest competition. Moisan, after surviving a brief spurt from Kemper that brought the score to within 11 points late, puts away her opponent 42-21 with a flurry of ringers that almost seems unfair. Is there a magnet on that stake? That appears to be the case, at least for Moisan.

A couple of courts away, Elmore's performance is equally as dominating, as she dispatches Pam Henderson with a final score of 40-23. "It seems like she gets a ringer every time she throws," says National Horseshoe Pitchers Association President Paul Stewart. It doesn't matter which of the women he was talking about. It would be an understatement to say Moisan and Elmore are the cream of this year's Women's Championship Flight crop. They are far and away so. Moisan's ringer average of 84.92 before Thursday's final match was barely 1 percentage point higher than Elmore's mark of 83.92. The next-nearest percentage is Connie Finley's 78.66, a full 5 percentage points lower than Elmore's. In the world of horseshoe pitching, that's a huge margin.

While Moisan and Elmore couldn't be more different off the court - the French-Canadian Moisan conducts interviews with an interpreter, while the Tennessee native Elmore oozes Southern Belle when she speaks - on it they are very similar in one respect: Getting rattled is an option for neither. "She shows no emotion," says Elmore of Moisan. "We're both pretty equal on that, though I probably show a little more than her. But when we play, there's no talking during the game. We're both concentrating on the task at hand." "Showing emotions is something that takes away from concentration," says Moisan. "I try to be that way (emotionless). It helps me stay focused." To boot, neither feign much concern over their meeting scheduled for Saturday. In fact, pressure is something both say they relish. "(Pressure) helps me to stay there. It motivates me to stay on top," says Moisan. The pressure, it seems, is truly on the rest of the field, who realize it would likely take some kind of hot streak to knock off either of the co-favorites. "We all know those two are up above all of us right now," says Kemper. "But the competition is so good out here that anyone can throw an 80 or 90 ringer percentage at any time. They don't have as many bad games as some of us, but there's always that little bit of luck."

Luck may be a factor, but Moisan and Elmore both know this year's title likely goes through the other. That would be a treat not only for the fans, but for each other. After Moisan beat Elmore in last year's final, they've played to a 1-1 draw in matches this season. So would it be fun for year's championship to come down to Saturday's match? Moisan gave a definitive answer. "Oui."


Joan Elmore, of Tennessee, pitches during the women's championship flight of the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships, Thursday. Elmore is currently 12-0. Journal photo by Joshua Duplechian.

(Right) Quebec's Sylvianne Moisan gives the score to the judge Thursday during championship round play. Like Elmore, Moisan is 12-0. A third contestant, Connie Filley of North Dakota, is also 12-0 in the women's standings. The men's championship flight features seven players at 12-0 entering the final two days of championship play. Journal photo by Joshua Duplechian.