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good standard, and that’s what the national fence created, an industry standard,* Watson said.
The fully portable jumps are delivered to racetracks and hunt meets on a specially designed tractor-trailer and set up (by race meet volunteers, guided by a National Steeplechase Association advisor, often Watson) a day in advance. When used at major flat tracks, jumps can be deconstructed quickly to allow for turf racing.
“National Steeplechase, and Virginia Steeplechase, each own two sets of national fences,* explained Great Meadow course director Bobby Hilton. A set consists of 30 panels, enough to make six to eight jumps, at a hunt meet out in the country or on a flat track’s turf course.
Each jump consists of four “sections* — each section is 8feet wide. The first fence of a race (typically the same one for every race) is five sections, in case all starters arrive at the jump side by side. It never happens, but jockeys appreciate a little extra width at the first jump as they settle fresh runners into stride early.
Hilton said that a crew of three or four strong men could set a course in half a day. The metal frames (that hold the black brush pieces, the “back* of the jump) weigh in at 500 pounds each, so a forklift helps handle the somewhat unwieldy sections. “There’s a very specific ‘way’ to put a jump together,* Hilton said. “Especially the rolls. You can’t just slap them down.*
“The tarp has to be tied down just so,* Watson said. “And the ropes stringing the panels together have to be real tight. The wings have to be paced off, and set at the correct angle. There’s quite an art to it.
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