Jim Davis Jr., age 9, of Brownsville, Tex., for his question:

WHO INVENTED HORSESHOE PITCHING?

Horseshoe pitching goes back to the days of the ancient Romans. The game originated in army camps about A.D. 100, almost two thousand years ago.

The Romans introduced the game into England, and the English brought it to North America. Horseshoe pitching has always been very popular in the United States.

For many years there were no formal rules. Then in 1914, a group of men set up standards of play and standards for equipment. The National Horseshoe Pitchers' Association, which was incorporated in 1920, originated from this group.

A horseshoe pitching court has stakes that are 40 feet apart. Regulation horsehoes are flat, U shaped pieces of iron with a small toe or calk at each end. The shoe must not weigh more than two and a half pounds and must not have more than three and a half inches of space between the calks. It must not be wider than seven and a quarter inches or longer than seven and five eighths inches.