A warm breeze blows across the racecourse at Kelso, carrying with it the sound of drills, saws and angle-grinders. The groundstaff have removed several steeplechase fences from the track and are in the process of stripping them down to be refurbished.

Each obstacle is comprised of five large timber frames, plus two slender ones which form the buttresses at either side. The rotten and damaged timbers need to be replaced before fresh bundles of birch can be packed back into the fence. Once arranged back on the track, the birch will be trimmed to the correct height – like the neatest of garden hedges, ready for the start of the new Kelso season in September.

Some people need persuading that the fences aren’t hedges (as they would have been, once upon a time, at some steeplechase venues) and believe that they will grow back if left long enough. But sadly they don’t grow by themselves and they are far from maintenance free.

During the latest National Hunt season Kelso staged 34 races over the steeplechase track, with 231 horses setting out to negotiate an average of 2 miles and 5 furlongs in each race. All told, the horses galloped a total or nearly 600 miles and negotiated roughly 3,600 fences. Each fence was therefore jumped an average of 450 times during the season. And while we’ve not calculated the exact cost of each fence over a two-year period (the length of time between each full refurbishment), we can say with some certainty that if Kelso received a fiver for every time one was jumped, it’d still not cover the cost of maintaining them.

Which is one of the reasons we’d love to see more steeplechasers in Britain – more runners equals better value for our investment in obstacles.

Field sizes in traditional weight-for-age novice steeplechases have dwindled in recent years, with hurdlers being able to graduate to handicap chases more quickly and being permitted to run off their BHA hurdle handicap marks. Next year we’re likely to see fewer of these types of races as a result, albeit staged for higher prize funds, in an attempt to encourage larger, more competitive, fields. Weight-for-age races are important for the development of Britain’s best steeplechasers, offering an opportunity to compete with peers without having to give away large amounts of weight. Because they don’t always get the hang of the larger obstacles straight away.

Take, for example, this week’s selection Tellherthenname who runs in the five-runner Novices Limited Handicap Chase at Uttoxeter on Saturday evening. This highly regarded gelding finished third of four runners on his first attempt over fences at Carlisle in October. After a break, and a brief spell over hurdles, Tellherthename opened his account over fences by scoring at Cartmel – albeit he was the only finisher in a two-horse race – the competition being unseated three fences from home.

Something tells me that the Dan Skelton trained runner has a bright future ahead of him; it wouldn’t be as surprise to see him competing at the Cheltenham Festival next March. Which is why, despite the small fields, we’ll continue to support novice chases at Kelso, and invest in our lovely steeplechase obstacles.