> the race track industry sees benefit in switching to synthetic surfaces > which are less concussive on the horse's legs for long-term soundness
Turf experts have been sent to Hong Kong to get the best footing for the Equestrian Olympics: The Olympic cross-country course at Beas River in Hong Kong has met all parameters for quality of the turf, the shock-absorbency of the footing, and its drainage ability. The turf has been declared ready for the cross-country portion of the eventing competition at the Olympics this August. The turf experts in the Hong Kong Jockey Club's tracks department are the men in charge of planting the grass to provide perfect footing for the horses. The planting project at Beas River was completed in March 2007. From then on, the turf experts have given the grasses their personal attention, including daily inspection. The Club has invested around HK$28 million ($3.5 million USD) in the cross-country footing at Beas River, including refurbishing the jump zones with sand and planting a total 45,000 square meters (about 11 acres) of Bermuda grass on the Beas River competition course and warm-up areas. Judy http://iceryder.net http://clickryder.com
