Michael Tokaruk and Inca jumping the TruTex jump during the $30,000 Brownland Farm Spring I Grand Prix
Press Release, April 27, 2022
Brownland Farm has been resolute in its focus on providing quality horse show experiences for decades, and the new Jumper and Schooling Jumper rings will be a touchstone for its dedication to achieving new levels of excellence.
As soon as the 2021 show season ended, Robin Anderton began consulting with Brian Topping of Top Grade, LLC, on ways to improve footing in the Jumper ring. They determined that to accomplish Robin’s goals, a total arena reconstruction was in order. That is where TruTex Equestrian came into play. Brian was very familiar with the footing and was impressed with its durability, longevity, and consistency as well as the support he received from the company. Knowing Brian’s reputation for perfection and understanding his level of confidence in the product, Robin was sold on TruTex and chose the Oasis version of their footing for the upgrades.
The reconstruction was going to involve removing all existing footing and grading the arena for proper slope. Then, an all-weather base with high drainage efficiency would need to be installed. Finally, the rings would be ready for their new footing which consists of a premium sand, blended with TruTex‘s Oasis geotextile and fiber additive. Produced in Germany, Oasis is TruTex‘s top-of-the-line footing textile product and produces an optimal surface for jumping competition. With these plans in mind, the ordering of materials and construction began. The project broke ground on January 20, of this year, and by February 23, Michelle and Maggie Anderton were enjoying riding in the arenas.
Prior to the season starting last week, a few local professionals were able to ride in the rings and gave their opinions about it. Chloe Desjarlais said she felt blessed to have this footing for the upcoming show season, saying, “I have never been more excited for a show season, especially knowing my jumpers are safe and protected.” After last week’s show (Brownland Farm Spring I) and jumping bigger fences (placing 9th in the $30,000 Grand Prix, and earning a 4th and 11th in the $7500 Welcome Stake), she added, “I never felt the footing give, even in the corners. I felt the horses had good support on take-off.” Martin Klein had this to say about his pre-show experience, “After riding on the new footing for two weeks with multiple horses jumping multiple heights, my favorite parts have been the consistency of the workmanship and the footing itself. While riding in the pouring rain, one cannot even tell that it is wet. The arena surface never pounds down, and it continues to give as you take-off and land in the same spot. We could not be happier with the improvements.”
Once the show began last week, everyone appeared excited and happy about the upgrade. Michael Tokaruk, who won last week’s $30,000 Grand Prix on Inca (and placed on two other horses) as well as multiple placings in the Welcome Stake, gave his opinion about the new footing saying, “The jumper ring and warm up area footing was a massive upgrade. The materials are state-of-the-art and I thought all my horses jumped really well off of the new surface. We all really appreciate the effort that the owners, management, and crew has put into bringing the footing up to such a high standard! It’s one more reason to love coming to Brownland!”
Also chiming in with his opinion was Adam Sklansky, who aboard Hakini was on fire this past week, finishing 4th in the Grand Prix and winning the $7500 Welcome Stake. Adam was “thrilled with the choice that Brownland has made to update the footing in the jumper ring. Jumping big tracks is stressful enough. So having great footing helps take a little bit of the stress away.” When asked if he would recommend people come show here if they have been hesitant in previous years because of the footing, he said, “Of course! Nothing to be hesitant about anymore!”
Of special note, up and coming Grand Prix rider, Macie Atwood (finishing 10th in the Grand Prix and 2nd in the Welcome Stake) noted that her horse is barefoot. They came to Brownland with the mindset that they would be putting some shoes on some of their horses. They quickly learned that that was going to be unnecessary. She said, “All of our horses have been jumping absolutely amazing on it. They all seem super comfortable, and we’ve had a lot of clean rounds, everything has seemed fantastic about it.” She added, “I think it’s a big game changer.”
TruTex is a Platinum Sponsor this year with plans in the works for additional ring improvements. You can find a storyboard at the Jumper Ring in-gate that chronicles the steps of the ring reconstruction and footing installation. “TruTex is definitely investing in the Brownland Farm Horse Shows this year”, says Michelle Anderton. Representatives for the company will be on hand during many of the scheduled shows, and nobody has to worry about remembering the TruTex name because it will be center stage across the entire facility. From digital signage on the scoreboard to a custom jump that just arrived from Wellington in time for the Grand Prix last week. There are also brochures available in the horse show office. For more information, visit their website www.trutexfooting.com