Interview with Ray Edwards - Ranch Manager at Spencewood Ranch
by Stephanie Scruggs
November 30, 2007

Born in Miami, Florida, but raised in Texas, 36-year-old Ray Edwards is practically a Lockhart native. He moved here at age six and attended Lockhart schools through graduation. He is a proud father to a 19-year-old daughter who studies pre-med at Texas A&M Corpus and a 13-year-old daughter who attends school in Lockhart.

Ray began his 22-year farming and agricultural career when he was only 14. He hauls cows and maintains over 500-acres of Caldwell County property. As of October 1, he has worked on the land now known as Spencewood Ranch, for 13 years. He worked for the former owner, a Louisiana native, who owned a few horses and registered Longhorns on the original 107 acres.

Today, Spencewood Ranch spans 2100 acres over three separate properties, all within five-mile radius. The ranch is predominantly a cattle (Bremmer, Black Brangus and registered Longhorn) and hay operation with 100 active cows, some with calves. The polo and horse boarding operation takes place at “Spencewood Headquarters” with close to 100 head of horses that board at Spencewood.

Andrew Hobby's vision to develop Spencewood Ranch into a polo operation with a regulation size field (300 yd. x 160 yd.) began with moving tons and tons of dirt, in mid-1994. It took over two years of hard work and dedication from all involved before the field was considered playable. Thirteen years ago, there was no “automatic” watering system. The only thing in place was a series of sprinkler heads that took an entire week to water the whole field.

I sat down with Ray over coffee to discuss how far he has come in the development of Spencewood's field, where he'd like to see it go, and to find out what else he does to keep himself busy.

S.S. Describe the maintenance regime you employ on the Spencewood Polo Field during the calendar year .

R.E. Starting in January, we aerate the field while we aren't watering on a regular basis. The grass is dormant at that time and it's a good way to start off the year. In late February & early March, depending on the weather (amount of rainfall), we start fertilizing and mowing. Pretty much from late March until our first freeze (usually about November) we continue with irrigating, mowing and fertilizing.

We mow an average of 1-2 times per week until the first freeze. One of our biggest challenges is to keep up a balance between rain, irrigation and mowing. If it rains a lot, we have to make another pass with the mower and that can add another half-day of work into the schedule. The only downtime the field has is from the first freeze, in November until we start all over again with aeration in January. We fertilize every 30-60 days, as needed. We use a pre-emergent in January and for killing weeds, D+D.

S.S. Tell me what it takes to prepare the field for a Tournament weekend?

R.E. To properly prepare for a tournament, it takes an entire workweek to get the field ready and that is if it's in good condition already. We begin prepping the field on Mondays using the big mower. Late Monday evening I start the irrigation process, which continues through to early Thursday morning. Also on Thursday, we make another pass with the mower and then on Friday, we do the last bit of finish mowing, to get the grass really short and stripe the field and we are done. The mowing process probably takes an average of 15 hours per week, during the polo season.

S.S. I want to hear more about the irrigation process.

R.E. The entire process of irrigating the polo field takes approximately 20 hours over three days to complete. We begin with setting up the equipment, which takes about 30 minutes. Close attention has to be paid to the weather conditions, especially the wind, because too much wind can blow the water where you don't want it or evaporate the water. As a result, I usually begin the irrigation process at night, starting at 10 p.m., once the wind has died down, and finish around 5 a.m. It takes the watering machine seven hours to make the proper number of passes and a total of three days to water the three sections of the field, one day per section. The machine also needs to be checked every hour to ensure that the proper pressure is maintained and that the equipment is functioning properly.

During that time, I also have to contact the state to report that we are watering. They need to know the meter reading when I start and finish, the time, date and our permit number. This is all required because one of our irrigation ponds dams a section of Plum Creek. I must fill-out and return paperwork to the state that coincides with a “watering event” within the calendar week.

S.S. Is there anything that the playing members can do to help ensure the best possible field conditions?

R.E. Riders need to pay attention when we water. The field becomes extremely soft and easy to damage when wet. Please stay off the field at these times, unless you are told otherwise. Also, please pick-up any debris (horseshoes, etc.) because it can break the mower.

S.S. As far as all of your responsibilities go, how do you balance it all?

R.E. During polo season, the polo field is always the first priority, followed by my other responsibilities. Right now, the polo season's over, so I concentrate on the hay operation. My biggest responsibility is the hay cultivation, followed by the cattle and fence maintenance.

S.S. Seems like a lot for one person or even two people to handle. What type of work does your dad help you with?

R.E. Ray Sr.'s responsibilities are to landscape all the property at “Headquarters,” organize and clean the workshop, maintain the equipment, and mow the grass both on and around the polo field. We have part-time help right now, but good help is hard to find.

S.S. Can you tell me more about the hay operation that takes place on the properties on Highway 183?

R.E. Sure, we grow mostly cattle hay and some horse quality hay on those properties. None of it is irrigated. Fortunately, we have had lots of rain this year. We fertilize and weed the “Coastal Hay” fields. On the other fields, we grow “Hay Grazer,” a type of hay, which we cut into square bales for cows. Everything else is round baled.

S.S. Your job is definitely not a Monday through Friday, nine to five job. When do you have time to relax?

R.E. Typically, I work six to seven days a week. On Sundays, I try to limit myself to just checking the fence lines to make sure that there weren't any overnight incidents (such as cars driving off the road) that require fence mending. I am always concerned that cows will get out onto the road at night and cause an accident. It's not unusual for DPS to call me in the middle of the night to let me know about a damaged fence. The rest of the day, I try to kick back and watch football. To tell you the truth, I'm not real good at just sitting around.