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Outdoor riding ring

BadDog
New Member

Oct 21, 2005, 7:26 PM

Post #1 of 6 (828 views)
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Outdoor riding ring	Can't Post

I'm interested to hear any ideas on how best to construct an outdoor riding ring.

You can assume that I've already leveled the area I want to install the ring, and put in place adequate drainage. I'm not sure of the right materials to use for footing.

I've built one previously by compacting the leveled area with a 3-ton vibratory roller over the levelled area, laying polyethylene separation fabric, then 8 inches of limestone sand. The main rider (my wife) liked this solution, and the only problem we had with it was when we were hit with heavy rain which washed away several yards of sand which was simply replaced. Note that I built this ring without seeking any advice from anyone, and although it worked well, we are now building another equestrian property, so I'd appreciate any advice from HorsesByNet members.

BadDog

CJuneau
Bronze Member

Oct 21, 2005, 9:50 PM

Post #2 of 6 (821 views)
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Re: [BadDog] Outdoor riding ring [In reply to]	Can't Post

BadDog,
In my ring, I have a base of rolled clay and then a 3.5" mixture of sand and screenings on top. I do not prefer deep sand footings as I feel that this promotes tendon and muscle injuries...think how fatigued your feet/legs feel after walking on deep sand for an hour. IMO, you do not want to sink, yet the base needs to be forgiving, so I would go 4" max. I got this information originally about 5 years ago via Equus Magazine and I know of many barn owners that use this footing solution and are happy with it. As a general rule of thumb, if your horses' hoofs sinks over the coronet band, it is too deep of footing.
Christina

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 2, 2005, 3:19 PM

Post #3 of 6 (761 views)
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Re: [BadDog] Outdoor riding ring [In reply to]	Can't Post

BadDog,
I am not sure about any regionally needs but in our area (California foothills) and discipline (reining/Reined cowhorse) we are pretty happy with compacted clay base, 4” of compacted decomposed granite and 4-6” of coarser sand. Once we have this set up, we let the top layer of sand settle and compact with watering. We then drag it to the desired depth. We might lose a bit of top sand on a heavy rain but its usually pretty light.

Depending on your riding needs it may be different. For reined cowhorse/reining most folks need a solid base with enough lose sand to reduce concussion. Cutters tend to like it a bit deeper.

Regards,
Mark

lkvaughan
Member

Nov 4, 2005, 3:44 PM

Post #4 of 6 (733 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Outdoor riding ring [In reply to]	Can't Post

the USDF (united states dressage federation) has a great booklet called Underfoot that describes their research/ recomendataions for building arenas
although there are different requirements for the depth and composition of footing for dressage and other disiplines, such as reining, the same principles apply- the do adress the footing for different sports
you can get a copy from the USDF web site http://www.usdf.org/Menu/index.asp

in the southeast we usually see arenas that are a sand/ chat (some people call it 'kitty litter', probably close to the same thing as screenings- usually limestone) mix, and some of the higher end places are now mixing rubber crumbs (wonderful)- the footing is good, but with the chat compaction is an issue

good luck!
kelly

Mark4510
Silver Member

Nov 7, 2005, 2:34 PM

Post #5 of 6 (712 views)
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Re: [lkvaughan] Outdoor riding ring [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Kelly,
Can you help me find that? I went to the site but did not see it. I must be getting blind and I did not see a search function for help.

Thanks,
Mark

lkvaughan
Member

Nov 7, 2005, 3:07 PM

Post #6 of 6 (706 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] Outdoor riding ring [In reply to]	Can't Post

its hidden under the books section of the store- it doesnt have a link to the actual book so this is the closest one i could find http://www.usdf.org/Store/Books.asp they are alphabetical so its near the bottom

its a pamplet and not a book, but it does a great job...

this paper has some info- and also lists some other books/articles that are interesting http://www.dressagearena.net/...a%20construction.pdf

these deal specifically with dressage arenas- but the base and technique for building would be the same- you would just adjust the amount and type of footing for different sports

here is another from Penn State http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ub038.pdf

and a great site by Cherry Hill that has all sorts of info- this link leads to the first of 5 articles she does about arena construction- if you go to the Articles button and scroll down the rest of the links are under the facilities section (she has lotts of other interesting articles too) http://www.horsekeeping.com/...lities/footing_1.htm

hope this helps!
kelly
(can you tell ive been researching building an arena too??) Tongue

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