New England Hall of Fame
/Deborah Michaud Player		1987
Motivated by finishing last in her first horseshoe tournament in 1970, Debby Michaud bought a pair of horseshoes and began to practice. Three weeks later, she averaged 25% ringers and finished second in Class B. Continually setting her sights higher, she won the 1973 New England championship on her first try. Since, then, that motivation and her efforts have resulted in 12 New England titles, 14 Massachusetts state titles, and 2 World Tournament victories. She pitched the flip for her first World Tournament victory in 1977 and switched to the one and a quarter turn for her 1985 World Tournament victory. She is the only World Champion to win with two styles of pitching. Over the years she has been a very consistent performer and has been in the top 5 in all but one of the 12 World Tournaments in which she has competed through 1987. She enjoys friendly games and coaching and encouraging new players as much as she enjoys those fiercely competitive games against top players. In addition, she is an advocate of equal "pitching rights" for women and helped form the Women's Professional Horseshoe Pitchers Association as well as a mixed horseshoe league in her hometown of Raynham, Ma. She is the first woman to be elected to the N.EH.P.A Hall of Fame.