Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Parade ring with ‘new era’ gates
roller to level the surface. We
topdress after every meeting,
as necessary, with a 50/50
rootzone and seed mix. A
typical year at Plumpton has
historically accounted for 240
tonnes of rootzone or sand,
depending on underfoot
conditions, with an average
cost of £6,500 per season.”
“Other work includes
aeration, which is carried out
as often as possible,” Mark
continued. “But, you have to
remember we are a winter
sport and, during the dark
days of December, January
and February, the
opportunities are not as often
as one would like. Again,
harrowing the course to
remove thatch with the Opico
spring harrow helps to keep a
healthy sward but, due to the
excessive wear we endure
during a season, this is also
mainly a summer/autumn
operation for us.”
During the first week of
June local contractor, Peter
Mannington, is brought in to
decompact the course, using
a 2.6 metre heavy duty vertidrain.
“We also hire a Vredo
seed drill from Peter every
spring to direct drill our grass
seed,” continued Mark.
“Barenbrug Bar 7 seed mix
has been used here for the
past three years with great
success.”
Supporting Mark in his
endeavours is the Chief
Executive of the Course,
Claire Sheppard. With
fourteen years experience in
the racing industry, first with
Tote Direct, followed by five
years as Commercial
Manager at Musselburgh
Racecourse, she took up the
post at Plumpton two years
ago.
“This is my dream job,’ she
enthused. “Horseracing has
been my passion from an
early age and, after leaving
university, my ambition was to
work within the sport that I
love.”
“This award is the
culmination of many years of
hard work and investment by
the owners and staff and,
certainly, we will not be
resting on our laurels,”
continued Claire. “We have
further plans to invest in the
track and facilities to improve
the raceday experience for all
our customers. In addition to
the current drainage works,
we will be redecorating the
public areas and upgrading
the backroom areas for stable
staff and jockeys.”
Ever mindful of the need to
be aware of other commercial
opportunities to diversify
revenue streams, Claire
explained that they were
planning to stage their first
ever drive-in movie at the
course.
Come to think of it, that is
something else the
toy town of Trumpton
didn’t have.
What’s in the shed?
Two Ford tractors, one with
loader
Two quad bikes with trailers
Two Votex toppers, one front
mounted
Cambridge ring roller
Opico spring harrow
Browns slitter
Quad mounted Terrator
aerator
Vicon varispreader
Fornells 10100
Running Rail
Fornells 10108
Running Rail
Crowd Barrier
& Gates
Www.fornells.com
UK Distributers of Fornells Products
01748822666 / 07966529666
www.wattfences.com
billwattfences@aol.com
Shelton Chain Trencher
Drain Today - Play Tomorrow
The Professionals Choice
Visit our website or call for a free demonstration
Tel. +44 (0) 1507 578288
info@sheltonsdrainage.com
www.sheltonsdainage.com
103