A South Kitsap girl competed at the 2014 National Horseshoe Pitch-ing Association World Horseshoe Tournament held on July 14-26 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Karla Lewis, 17, finished seventh in her division — Junior Class G. This was the second time she has competed in the world championships.

The first was in 2013 in St. George, Utah.

Lewis said she has been throwing horseshoes for more than three years. After returning from this year’s world tournament, Lewis presented a 76-year-old grandfather with a special gift.

“I started pitching for my grandpa (Bob Clark) who is no longer able to pitch horseshoes,” said Lewis. “This year when I got home from the world tournament, I gave my trophy that I got to my grandpa. When he saw it he got a big smile on his face.”

At the world tournament, participants are throwing into a clay pit, rather than sand.

“Clay is much harder to pitch on than sand, because when you throw the shoe it doesn’t slide,” Lewis said. “It just sticks if the clay is prepared properly.”

Her mother, Bonnie Lewis, also competed at the world championships in the women’s division.

“While me and my mom were at the tournament, one of the people she pitched against gave us a watermelon,” Lewis said. “We didn’t have any silverware or a knife, so we used my hook that I used to get my horseshoes out of the clay.”

Lewis said when she wasn’t throwing, she was hanging out with some of the other junior competitors.

“I made quite a few friends who I know I will stay friends with for a long time,” she said.

Lewis said during her last day in New York, she and her mother went to Niagara Falls.

Lewis, a senior at South Kitsap High School, is a member of the Kitsap County Horseshoe Club. She said she practices every Tuesday night during league season, which runs from April to September. Lewis then participates in tournaments throughout the state, which begin in January.