Free passport program launched for Horseshoe Trail in Springfield, Illinois

Visit Springfield, the tourism and destination marketing organization for the City of Springfield, Illinois, announced last week it is launching the Springfield Horseshoe Trail Passport, which aims to heighten awareness of the longstanding dish in the region.

The free passport lists 20 local businesses, including several along the Route 66 corridor,

For the uninitiated, the horseshoe consists of slices of toast, a hamburger patty or other type of meat, french fries and cheese sauce over everything. The dish originated in Springfield in 1928 at the Leland Hotel, which no longer exists. A ponyshoe is a smaller variation of the same thing.

More from the news release:

“As the destination marketing organization for Springfield, we are always looking for fun and unique ways to engage, entertain and delight our visitors! The Springfield Horseshoe Trail speaks to the idea of a phygital experience. Phygital is the concept of using technology to bridge the digital world with the physical world with the purpose of providing a unique interactive experiences for the user. This Trail will do just that, as folks travel around the city in search of these unique Horseshoes!” Amy Beadle, marketing manager.

Conversations around development of the passport began in early 2023 and led to Visit Springfield reaching out to a well-known technology company in the travel space, Bandwango. Bandwango technology is designed to support free and paid experiences created by destinations and marketed to visitors and locals.

Using this technology, Visit Springfield began working alongside local businesses to get their offerings loaded into the new Springfield Horseshoe Trail Passport.

“I love the saying ‘a rising tide raises all boats,’ and that is how I look at local business collaborations.
Springfield is a great community with a lot to offer our residents and our visitors. When we work together to showcase something like the Springfield classic horseshoe, everybody wins! And if you don’t know what a horseshoe is, or haven’t tried all the varieties, jump on the Horseshoe Trail!,” said Brent Schwoerer, owner, founder and brewmaster, Engrained Brewing Company.

Once users are ready to redeem their pass, they simply check in through GPS and start earning points for
visits. Points can be collected or redeemed for unique trail prizes.

The webpage to sign up for the Springfield Horseshoe Trail can be found here. The same landing page also contains a handy online map of all the participating restaurants if you don’t want to sign up for the passport.

Five years ago, a person wrote to the Illinois Times suggesting a Horseshoe Trail in Springfield. And here it is.

Except for people who live in or near the Springfield region, users probably won’t gather enough passes to earn a prize. However, the app would be useful for those wanting to experience a horseshoe. The program would help them find such a restaurant or narrow their choices.

(Image of a horseshoe sandwich in Springfield, Illinois, by Ryan Harvey via Flickr)