The Spanische Hofreitschule announced today that a new type of sand had been spread at the Winterreitschule in Vienna and at its training centre in the Lower Austrian town of Heldenberg.The revolutionary sand will cause less strain to the famous Lipizzaner stallions.
The SRS explained the modern grit was totally "dust free" and more comfortable for the horses to be ridden on. Several companies and patrons came up with the 120,000-Euro investment.
SRS added that the Lipizzaners will train on the new surface next Tuesday (17 August), with the first performance in front of spectators scheduled for 28 August.
Well, great. Nice to find sponsors for that! I wish I could do the same!!! :)
AntwortenLöschenI wonder what it will be like to walk on, for Bereiter charging round am langen Zügel :-)
AntwortenLöschenWe had sand put into our arena last year. ( Don't know if it is the same type of sand) It took the horses a little time to get used to it, but we like it very much. I can say from experience that it is a good footing to land on should you get thrown ;-))
AntwortenLöschenRomy
.. a good footing to land on if you get thrown... anything has to be better than a Scottish hillside !... ouch !!!
AntwortenLöschenI hope the new footing is good for everyone!
AntwortenLöschen"Good footing to land on if you get thrown" Or the hard dirt road that I landed on a few days ago! OUCH says my bum!
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AntwortenLöschenI much prefer the sand footing to either a Scottish hillside or a dirt road !! ;-))
Yup and now I get to find a new saddle since my old one had a catastrophic failure as my hubby likes to say...
AntwortenLöschenA new era has begun:
AntwortenLöschenECOTRACK is the new surface in the baroque Winter Riding School
For one week bucket excevators instead of horses could be seen in the world’s most famous riding hall. For the first time in the 275 year old history of the Winter Riding School the ridingground was completely removed and replaced. Until now the sawdust-sand-mixture was only refilled.
From now on a new era regarding the surface begins: The new ground surface is composed of a basement of recycled synthetic material onto which some waxed sand is brought up.
The base was re-levelled with a laser controlled leveller by RIPRO GmbH. On this levelled ground, the tried and tested AustroMODUL was laid, made of recycled plastics, has excellent product characteristics and can be used for various applications. The holes of the AustroMODUL were then filled with grit and form a first class, non-slip base for the surface.
The surface Ecotrack was developed by Martin Collins who has been the UK market-leader in synthetic surfaces for 30 years. Ecotrack comprises silica sand and Clopf® fibres blended with a wax coating which provide superior energy return. This surface has excellent climatic tolerances, is dust free and does not require watering. The combination of the Clopf® fibre and the wax also provides stability which allows the horses to work on top of the surface rather than into it which considerably reduces the stress to the joints and tendons of the horse. The aim was to create a surface which allows the horses to show the best of their ability with the least risk of injury.
Ecotrack can be manipulated using specialist equipment to optimise conditions for different disciplines such as dressage, show jumping, carriage driving, polo, etc.
The Spanish Riding School has the first Ecotrack surface in Austria which is supplied in Austria and the neighbouring countries by Feichtinger KG and RIPRO GmbH in collaboration with Martin Collins International Ltd.
Ecotrack surfaces have been in regular use from private installations to leading international shows for many years, including the London International Horse Show (Olympia), Hickstead and the Windsor Europeans in 2009, where Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas achieved all three of their world kur records in 2009.
From now on this floor, powered by 3 companies (Fa. Martin Collins, Fa. Ripro, Fa. Feichtinger), will be used in both of our locations in Vienna and in Heldenberg. In total it is an investement of € 120.000,--.
Andreas, please tell us how it "feels" in practice. What are your experiences? And how does it differ with the old footing?
AntwortenLöschenAnd did the manufacturer reckon with the fact that not only dressage exercises are accomplished in the Winterreitschule, but also the airs ?
Well, I didn't ride on it yet. I train my stallions in our new training center in Heldenberg. Heldenberg is a paradise for horses, it really is! I love it, so do all my stallions. Yesterday we got the same new footing in the indoor arena as in the Winter Riding School though we, Rider Rothleitner, Ass. Rider Zimmermann II. and me, didn't train on it yet. We will tomorrow, so we'll see :-)
AntwortenLöschenOk, thank you! Please let us know your experiences, as I am curious about this type of footing!
AntwortenLöschenThe footing is great and it doesn't need to be watered at all!
AntwortenLöschenThe stallions must feel as if they are on a permanent holiday there. Can you hack them while you are there?
AntwortenLöschenYes, we hack them, train them in the outdoor arena and put them on paddocks :-)
AntwortenLöschenThey must feel they are in heaven!
AntwortenLöschenYes they do :-) Tried the new footing in the Indoor and it's great!
AntwortenLöschenI would also like to know how it is going with the footing too...
AntwortenLöschenThe footing is great! We tried it for a couple of days now.
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