Equestrian
“
It was an exacting process - we had to lay a lorry load of Tapeta, and then use it to drive on to add the next load to avoid making ripples in the Tarmac
The all-weather course retains the bends and natural undulations of its turf predecessor
Tapeta is a sand, fibre and wax mixture
Three attenuation ponds have been installed to treat run- off, using gabion baskets with breeze blocks and bricks as filters
”
Three attenuation ponds have been built to capture and treat run-off from the all-weather track
104 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
that, or even host the championship itself in the future,” says James. Climatic conditions also influenced the choice of all-weather surface, and keen to see how materials performed in wet, cold conditions, James visited a trainer in the Borders who regularly uses his Tapeta gallops in sub-zero temperatures. Tapeta is a sand, wax and fibre mixture pioneered by former British trainer Michael Dickinson. It has proved highly successful in the USA, where racecourse surfaces must withstand not only racing but also daily training for the hundreds of horses based on site. Tapeta is also the surface of choice for sister course Wolverhampton. “Bearing in mind our low temperatures, the mixture specified for us has slightly more wax than that used at Wolverhampton.” Construction by contractor Stobart Rail began in September 2015, with eighteen inches of topsoil removed and stockpiled, before lime was added to stabilise the base, rotavated in and rolled flat. Type 1 stone was added as a drainage layer, topped with
60mm of porous tarmac, and then 18,000 tonnes of Tapeta laid. “It was an exacting process - we had to lay a lorry load of Tapeta, and then use it to drive on to add the next load to avoid making ripples in the Tarmac,” James recalls. Design of the all-weather track had to take
into account not only its neighbouring national hunt course and the golf course, but also an SSSI on the far side of the estate, managed by Newcastle’s Natural History Society. Three attenuation ponds have been installed to treat run off, using gabion baskets with breeze blocks and bricks as filters; reed beds are being planted to offer additional filtration. Deep ditches surround the track to carry water away.
Northumberland Golf Club, located in the
centre course, plays over the track in several places so crossing points have also been incorporated. Extensive re-railing with Duralock rail has
used 9,230 metres of running rail and 1,015 metres of crowd barrier - as well as all- weather, the entire horsewalk from the
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