EQUESTRIAN
Chase fences are a mixture of traditional and modern: spruce is used to give an inviting appearance, but the wooden take off board on open ditches has been replaced with rubber for safety
The track surrounds Ludlow Golf Club, and the traffic from golfers causes compaction where the fairway crosses
over winter, with little of the yellowing that you would expect,” comments Tom. “You can see a difference between the surrounding fairway and the course.” He explains: “Tom Weaver and I discuss our requirements and he comes up with solutions. It’s a challenge to keep racecourse turf performing well because it gets cut up so much. If we get a lot of rain on a raceday, it can look like a ploughed field afterwards, and we have to get it back to as near perfect as possible for the following week.” Tom also instigated a programme of aeration which had not previously been considered a priority - he rescued the slitter from some nettles and fitted it with new tines!
“The Verti-Drain was predominantly used on the bad areas where the golfers cross, but I use it a lot more, and do the whole course two or three times a year. We also have a Cambridge roller to level the course - it’s controversial as we want to avoid compaction, but I believe it is the best way
to smooth out the hoofmarks and it’s a matter of balancing it with aeration.” “All the equipment was here, but a lot of it was tired,” he comments. “In discussion with Simon, I came up with a wishlist and one of the first purchases was a tractor. We looked at a premium brand second-hand, but the cost with loader and turf tyres was prohibitive. My contacts at dealers Farol managed to find us a 2009 Kubota M8540 which fits the bill.” Tom also sourced a John Deere X740 lawn tractor and collector for fine turf areas such as the parade ring and lawns. Its predecessor, a domestic lawn tractor, is retained for back up!
Much of the work remains manual, such as moving hurdles, requiring a team of four part-time staff to resite them on fresh ground after each meeting. Steeplechase fences also move after four to five meetings - they are mounted on steel frames so can be towed with a tractor - better than the old wooden frames, which needed regular maintenance, points out
Chris Jones. Padded hurdles are another innovation which have reduced maintenance costs considerably - at the first January meeting, just two were damaged, compared to as many as twenty of the old-style hurdles which could need repair after each meeting. “They are much safer too, reducing the risk of injuries to horses,” comments Chris. Expecting breakages, Tom purchased a supply of spares for the new hurdles, but they are all still in the shed!
The steeplechase fences have had a facelift. One of Tom’s first jobs was to update the water jump to meet BHA standards which require it to be no more than 3in deep, and line it with rubber.
Spruce is sourced from local estates to give the front of the fences their traditional, inviting appearance, but Tom has replaced the wooden guard rail on open ditches with rubber, to prevent injuries should horses strike it on take-off or when falling. “I’m looking to make changes and modernise, but retain the character that
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PC February/March 2019
107
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