Equine

“When we’re building a course or designing a course, our priority is the safety of the horse. The footing is the most important part. We do everything we can to make the footing perfect. For the footing, we use Mirimichi Green [products], aeration, and a little fertilizer if we have to. We do our very best to make the footing firm and soft at the same time. We want it solid, but want it to have a little give [too]. We did the entire course with Mirimichi Green [products] about 4-5 years ago and you could tell the difference. And then we brought in Mirimichi Green’s team to treat the whole course. And you could still tell in May, after the Kentucky Three Day Event, where it had been treated. It was greener than the rest [of the course]. We don’t want hard footing and we don’t want really soft muddy footing. Even when it’s really wet here, the footing has held up really well. I try to protect the course as much as possible from the rain by aerating and using Mirimichi Green [products] because it allows the roots to go deeper and prevent compaction.”

“The only place that’s even close to that is Aachen [Germany],” said Phillips. “[In Tryon], you really have the best footing anywhere in the world. I’ve never before done a course where I’ve been 100 days out from an event and not had a completed track, but having said that, I’ve never before seen tracks go in so quickly and produce such unbelievably good footing.”