Making a better grass riding surface

[smiggy]

We have the mounted games team practice here, normally our big flat field is perfect, we roll and Harrow then leave it grow to provide surface grass cover.
This year we were only able to roll once before our clay turned to cement and grass just isn't growing
Most of the ponies are veterans and it's just so hard and horrible
Was thinking of trying to improve a strip say 4m by 50 m to make a lane for practice
Any ideas?
Anyone know what they do to improve going on cross country courses?
Only thing I can think of is using sand, but would need about ten tonnes which is going to cost a fortune
Watering or rotating?
We have a school but the standard 40m isn't long enough without a run off either end

 

[kerilli]

i can think of a couple of things.
one is using small rubber crumbs, repeatedly sowing it thinly enough that it won't kill the grass off (not heavily enough to cover it all, in other words). it will gradually sink down into the soil and into the root structure.
the other is to use woodchips, afaik this is what keysoe did last winter and this spring to make such good going for their xc course. it might be worth dropping them a line to ask what they did, they post on here as "keysoe" iirc, or email direct.