‘He’s a force of nature’: B.C. competitive horseshoe player turns 100

“Don’t slow. Keep going!” Adam meets the man called the oldest competitive horseshoe player, and finds out his secret to living happily past 100.

SAANICH, B.C. — If you ask Bob Curtis what it says on his ball cap, he’ll take it off and read it to you.

“Not everyone looks this good at 100,” Bob laughs, before adding that he also feels “100 per cent.”

But if you ask Bob about his secret to living a century happily, he’ll start showing you what he does.

“I enjoy it,” Bob says before pulling out a pair of horseshoes and throwing them towards a metal pole. “And you try to get better.”

Bob plays horseshoes in a league a couple time a week but is too humble to talk about the tournaments he’s won.

“It’s unreal how he can throw that shoe,” fellow player Dick Stevens says. “He’s a force of nature.”

Reports say Bob is also the oldest competitive horseshoe player in the world.

“Oh well,” Bob laughs humbly when asked about his new title. “I just ignore it.”

While Bob ignores accolades, his younger self couldn’t ignore when Canada went to war.

“They need us. We go,” Bob says. “No questions asked.”

He volunteered to join the navy and served around the Atlantic for years.

Bob also photographed his ship’s missions. While he photographed the friends he made, he also had to document the burials at sea for the ones he’s lost.

By the time the war was over, Bob had learned to never take life for granted.

“Don’t slow up,” Bob says. “Just keep going.”

In addition to that advice, he taught his son Lee Curtis to find a positive purpose.

“Most days he gets up with a list of things he wants to accomplish that day,” Lee says. “He’s typically helping somebody.”

When he wasn’t helping his late wife of 67 years Ellie, and their family which now includes great grandchildren, Bob was volunteering countless hours at the horseshoe club.

“He gets up on a ladder and he’s 100 years old,” Dick says. “He gets up on the roof here and works.”

It turns out Bob’s secret to living 100 happy years isn’t just one thing. It’s a combination of staying active, being of service, and remaining grateful. Like when the owner of the hat store offers to give Bob his 100th birthday ball cap for free.

“I wouldn’t accept that,” Bob smiles. “She’s got to make a living too.”

So Bob paid her and thanked her, before promising to return next year.

Because no doubt not everyone will look as good as Bob at 101.