58 | November/December 2018
F E A T U R E
Thirty
-
seven years of friendship
and horseshoes
BY CATHERINE PRITCHARD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BYRON JONES
T
hat first time, there was no thought of a
next time.
ree young Fayetteville men, home for
the summer from college, wanted to hold
a get-together with other friends before
school and life pulled them apart again.
ey decided to center the gathering around a horseshoe
tournament – mainly because one of them had horseshoe
stakes in his backyard. Ten friends ended up joining
them for what was dubbed the Fair Oaks Invitational. e
competition lasted two days and included laughs, beer
and awards – a horseshoe nailed to a block of wood for the
winner and a TV tray they'd found on the side of the road
for last place.
e next summer, they thought: Why not do it again?
And a tradition was born.
e first Fair Oaks Invitational was held in 1982.
is past October, the tournament was held for the 37th
consecutive year. More than 50 men competed, including
several who were at the very first FOI.
Among them: Adam Ancherico, Jamie Stewart and
Andrew Stiles, who together came up with the idea for
the tournament back in 1982. Ancherico, who lives in
Fayetteville and is now the primary organizer of the annual
event, has never missed an FOI. Nor has Stewart, who now
lives in Houston. Stiles, who lives in Richmond, has missed
just one – back in 1986.
It's a priority for them and for many others. Over the
