Have you ever wondered how training horses, baseball, and lawn care are connected? Well, it is through grass. I am a turfgrass management student at the Institute of Applied Agriculture at the University of Maryland. One requirement for this program is to complete at least 320 internship hours over the summer. For my internship, I continued my working student position at a horse training facility in Virginia, worked on the grounds crew for a baseball field in Bowie for the first half of summer break, and interned at a lawn care company in Rockville for the second half.
My focus at the training facility is to expand my knowledge of horse care, training, and management. When I get there, there is a list of work I need to do for the day written out on a whiteboard. My work ranges from getting horses ready for the trainers and lessons to cleaning to setting up for shows and clinics, as well as some regular barn chores. However, since we use the fields for turnout and training, they get worn down and torn up. This is where the turf management side of things comes into play. We have to pay attention to the health of the fields and rest and rotate their use. Healthy and full grass helps with erosion and footing. In addition to knowing what grasses grow well and are good for large areas, we also consider the nutritional value of various pasture seed mixes because grazing is factored into the horses' diets. We do the field management ourselves using different attachments for the tractor to seed, fertilize, mow, and spray pesticides and herbicides. There are other applications of turf management in equine sport including cross country fields and racetracks where understanding the various properties of grasses is important.
Working with the grounds crew in Bowie taught me practices for the field to stay in good shape and be able to withstand the stress of games and practice. The work itself was straightforward but required timing and coordination with the others on the crew. (Hurry up and wait then hurry up again.) Before the game, we would set up nets for practice. If it was raining earlier that day, practice would be held inside, and we would start by removing a tarp that covered the field. This process involved everyone including the office staff, lining up holding a section of the tarp and running it to the other side, so it was folded in half. We would repeat this until the tarp was narrow enough to roll up and move out of the way. After that was done and practice was finished, we would pack the mounds, set the bases and cleat cleaners, paint the lines, drag the infield, and finish by watering everything right before the game. During the game we would have to run out after the 3rd and 6th innings to drag the infield. At the end of the game, we basically did everything in reverse: take out the bases, reclean and pack the mounds cover each mound with a tarp, water, and put the big tarp back out if necessary. The manager did the mowing, fertilizer, and aeration himself, so I did not get experience with those machines, but he was open and willing to talk about how he managed the field and why he chose certain practices over others. I quickly learned his dislike of urea as a fertilizer as he often complained about how it took more care to ensure the grass did not burn.
The lawn care company I finished off my summer with does tree, shrub, and lawn care. They do not do mowing or landscaping but focus more on health care. This includes pest and disease treatment, fertilizers, and tree pruning and removal. We would start the day with stretching, then a meeting for general announcements and notes as well as continued education safety talks. We would then get our route and after checking that the truck was fully equipped for the day, head out to work. I mostly rode with the plant health care and lawn care people. I learned how they do client interaction, read and understand work orders, report issues or differences in plant health, mix, spray, and inject chemicals, and of course write door hangers. I got a good feel for the flow of the company, and how the arborists do their assessments and write the work orders.
My internship experience was unconventional but gave me a well-rounded view of different aspects of the turfgrass industry. This truly broadened my practical skills and knowledge of the work. I value the ability to connect what I learn in class to real life and feel refocused on continuing my education. I hope to continue my career in the equine turfgrass corner of the industry, as it combines my experience with horses and my interest in turfgrass management.
