Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Roger with his ‘exit strategy’ Ben Gibson
44
Unit 11B, Hill Farm Estate, Irthlingborough Road,
Little Addington, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN14 4AS, UK
Ph: 01933 652235 Email: info@trimaxmowers.co.uk
“I feel like 73 sometimes,
but I have an exit strategy
and am grooming Ben to
succeed - he’s still only 18,
but coming on really well”
reconstructed one is ready for
county cricket. “I’ve tried pretty
much everything on the square
over the years and it’s achieved a
very good root structure now but,
when I came here, there were major
difficulties and it took a couple of
years to sort them out. But, I think
our efforts here to turn things
around have been appreciated.”
Most important of all is the end
of season renovation, stresses
Roger, pointing to the bags of loam
and Sheriff ’s TT23 triple ryegrass
mix. That’s when the Graden may
well come in handy, he adds.
Coming full circle, aerating begins
again in November. “I do five
passes over about two to three
months using the Toro Greens-Air,
which provides a four-inch depth,”
he adds.
As a contractor, Roger owns all
his own equipment, which can
supplement the items that
Horsham run. Hove, the county’s
cricket home, loaned the ground a
motorised Blotter to relieve Roger
of the chore of drawing sheets
across the square when it rained.
“The weight of water that could
accumulate on the sheets was
huge,” he remembers. “The
motorised unit, plus our two
pedestrian Blotters do the job well.”
The John Deere 2563, used on the
outfield and purchased after the
five-year lease expired, is the
workhorse at Horsham. “As a
mower, it is not too complicated
and does the job.”
At 63, Roger might be forgiven
for seeking retirement. “I feel like
73 sometimes,” he jokes, “but I
have an exit strategy and am
grooming Ben to succeed. He’s still
only 18, but is coming
on really well.”
Images
© Clare Turnbull and
speedmediaone
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