aachen: THE TURF / DER RASEN / LE GAZON Rolex grand slam magazine The turf of the CHIO Aachen Luscious 46 L ike fine snowflakes, the earth trickles through his fingers to the ground. Brown on green. The richest green. He exposes the grass roots with his thumb so that he can examine them more carefully. His gaze is focused on the palm of his hand where the small mound of earth lies. “The footing has to be one hundred percent perfect for the competition,” says Frank Kemperman, Director of the Aachen show. He makes no compromises in this respect, which is why he regularly checks the condition of the grass in the main stadium personally. Tread resistance, elasticity, durability – a number of factors contribute to the quality of the footing for show jumping. Frank Kemperman strives to check them all. A daily challenge, and one that is repeated every year. “The grass arena has been here in Aachen since 1925 and it is here to stay. Over the course of time, other organisers have opted for sand instead, because it’s easier to maintain,” the Dutchman explains, as a tractor drives into the stadium behind him. “We want to preserve tradition. Aachen has to stay green, that’s very important to us!” A whole team is occupied with this task. There’s the groundsman of the CHIO Aachen, who has 40 years’ experience. He can control the sprinkler system via his mobile phone from anywhere in the world, should the weather at the Soers change suddenly. Then, there’s a reputable Dutch company specialising in equestrian surfaces, who analyses the footing and is constantly seeking new ways to optimise all aspects of it, from the soil composition to the location of the obstacles. The team is currently experimenting with a special new grass and has planted a strip of it on the training area. Perhaps it will be the future of the CHIO Aachen. For now, however, the focus is on the existing surface – and it’s worth taking a look underneath that surface to see where the real masterpiece of the Aachen stadium lies. Layer upon layer, the perfect combination of grass, fine to coarse lava, grit, drainage sand and the surface company’s special “Geomix” mixture ensures that the ground is permeable, stable and yet at the same time not too hard. This is the basic structure, which must then be cared for daily, in preparation for each Rolex Grand Prix, year after year. Taking root Immediately after the show, the team in Aachen starts preparing the footing for the next year: cleaning it, plugging the holes, re-sowing it so that the grass starts growing as quickly as possible again. Ideally, the roots have to be between ten and twelve centimetres long for the CHIO Aachen. At that point the footing is tread resistant and the horses do not slip in the turns when the ground is wet. After the sowing process, the grass has to be cut. Depending on the weather, this can be necessary right through to December. After the winter break, from the onset of spring around mid-March onwards, the care process continues: an employee of the specialist team tends to the sacred grass every day up until the Rolex Grand Prix. Now, for instance, he is circling the main stadium on a tractor, pulling an aerator behind him that pokes holes into the turf with prongs the size of a sabretooth. A predator with a pulse rate of 120 beats per minute. It may seem a brutal process, but it is one of the most important maintenance tasks for the surface, as Kemperman points out: “The holes not only make the grass more elastic, they
Rolex Grand Slam magazine Number 3
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