The Sleepy Hole Horseshoe Club had a small but respectable turnout for its Albert G. Horton Jr. Veterans Memorial Day tournament held on May 30 at Sleepy Hole Park.

“I thought it went well,” SHHC president Scott Fencil said, noting he was “hoping for a bigger turnout,” but added that with a little more advertisement next year and some other changes, the club might be able to restore the participation level the event has featured in the past.

Still, this year’s tally of nine competitors was not an all-time low for the tourney, and Fencil said, “I wouldn’t say I was disappointed.”

Some of the nine came from Hampton Roads, but one of them came from as far as the Chesterfield area.

The tournament was a National Horseshoe Pitchers Association-sanctioned event, and participants were divided into three different classes — A, B and C — based on their ability level.

Kirk Adams of Chesapeake won Class A.

“My last two games could have went either way,” he said. “I had to really, really step it up my last two games in order to go undefeated.”

He entered the event with a percentage of 47.25, meaning that in 100 throws, he averages more than 47 ringers.

Each game consists of 40 throws, and in one game during the tournament, he had 28 ringers — equaling a 70 percent success-rate.

Adams went 4-0 on the day, registering 85 ringers in 160 throws, good for a percentage of 53.13.

Talmage Dunn of Moyock, N.C., who won Class B, wished there were a few more players but said, “I thought the tournament was great.”

“Scott and those guys did a good job of pulling it off, and the proceeds go to the best cause,” he said.

All the entry fees from the tournament go to the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery on 5310 Milners Road. The funds have sometimes been used for grounds maintenance.

This year, the tournament raised $180 for the cemetery.

“My brother’s actually buried out there,” Adams said of Roy Adams, who served in the U.S. Army. “He served his country real good, and it was really touching to be able to win something like that for him.”

Dunn said his father and grandfather served in the military, along with uncles and his brother-in-law. In addition to the benefit of their helping protect the country, he experienced a very personal benefit to having a serviceman in the family.

“If it wasn’t for the military, I would have never made it through college,” Dunn said.

He entered the tournament with a percentage of 25.12 and produced a 32.5 percentage on the day, throwing 52 ringers in 160 throws. He had a record of 3-1.

Jim Overhiser of Chesapeake won Class C. He started out with an 11.25 percentage but produced a 20 percentage on the day, with 32 ringers. He went 3-1.

There were two veterans participating, Sherwood Brown, who took third in Class A, and Donald Lowe, who took second in Class C.

Fencil wants to try to get more sponsorship for the tournament next year, “trying to build it back up to what it used to be,” he said, and he wants to reach people 40 years or younger.

“Getting the younger ones out there is a little difficult, but I’m trying to get some families,” he said.

Following are the results from the tournament:

Class A                        Entry %            Win            Loss            Ringers            Percentage

1) Kirk Adams                        47.25                        4            0            85                        53.13

2) Kenneth Henson            41.50                        2            2            57                        35.63

3) Sherwood Brown            28.42                        0            4            36                        22.50

Class B                        Entry %            Win            Loss            Ringers            Percentage

1) Talmage Dunn            25.12                        3            1            52                        32.50

2) Gary Martin            26.51                        2.5            1.5            46                        28.75

3) Bryan Spivey            20.83                        0.5            3.5            33                        20.63

Class C                        Entry %            Win            Loss            Ringers            Percentage

1) Jim Overhiser             11.25                        3            1            32                        20.00

2) Donald Lowe            8.75                        2            2            19                        11.88

3) Janet Dunn                        8.88                        1            3            5                        3.13