Drainage in riding school

[Sprogladite01]

I have a 15x17m turnout/lunge pen which floods every time it rains, and in extreme cases, causes my whole yard to flood due to overspill. I'd like to get someone in to look at the school and potentially do some work to improve the drainage - does anyone have any recommendations for companies who could do something like this? (I am aware this is going to be eye watering in terms of costs).
I am based in Cambridgeshire. We had general drainage people out this morning but their solution would be to put in a sump drain with the end result being a manhole cover in the middle of the arena. And I can guarantee my mare would find a way to slip on it and break her leg so...we aren't doing that!! Any ideas on who best to contact gratefully received

 

[Skib]

You local polo cub? Polo fields sometimes have complicated drainage.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Not in your area I'm afraid, but have you worked out what is causing the flood? Is it lack of drainage, or run off from higher ground. Is the entire pen lower than surrounding area etc.? If it is overspill from surrounding land, would it be possible to dig out a couple of run off channels or is there nowhere to drain too? If you have a digger to hand it is possible to dig out a herringbone channel the length of the area to a depth of 2 feet or so, line with terracotta drain pipes and backfill with a foot of gravel before replacing the surface. The last pipe exits at the lowest point and within two or three weeks of install will start to wick the water away. Possibly not much help, but that's how my dad and uncles used to drain boggy pasture.

 

[cauda equina]

This firm is brilliant, they've done a lot of land drainage for me and put in an all weather turnout which never floods!

Home | William Morfoot

Land Drainage Experts William Morfoot located in Norfolk, provides land drainage for agricultural clients, ground works and utilities, sports field, pond and lake construction, as well as equestrian complexes in East Anglia and throughout the UK.

williammorfoot.co.uk

 

[Sprogladite01]

Not in your area I'm afraid, but have you worked out what is causing the flood? Is it lack of drainage, or run off from higher ground. Is the entire pen lower than surrounding area etc.? If it is overspill from surrounding land, would it be possible to dig out a couple of run off channels or is there nowhere to drain too? If you have a digger to hand it is possible to dig out a herringbone channel the length of the area to a depth of 2 feet or so, line with terracotta drain pipes and backfill with a foot of gravel before replacing the surface. The last pipe exits at the lowest point and within two or three weeks of install will start to wick the water away. Possibly not much help, but that's how my dad and uncles used to drain boggy pasture.

We aren't 100% sure but we think it was installed without any drainage by the previous property owners (they tended to install everything themselves...as cheaply as possible. We're pretty sure they moved when everything started falling apart!). It's always been prone to puddles and at times completely filling up, but this is the first year it's been bad enough to (repeatedly) flood my stables and I've drawn the line and said enough is enough! The land on the whole property is completely saturated and the fields also have surface water sitting on the top but they're clay fields so not sure much can be done there without significant investment. Hence why I need the turnout pen so badly - my poor horses have been stranded in their (flooded) stables for half the day, then going into the flooded field in the afternoon. It's costing me an absolute fortune in bedding!

 

[Sprogladite01]

This firm is brilliant, they've done a lot of land drainage for me and put in an all weather turnout which never floods!

Home | William Morfoot

Land Drainage Experts William Morfoot located in Norfolk, provides land drainage for agricultural clients, ground works and utilities, sports field, pond and lake construction, as well as equestrian complexes in East Anglia and throughout the UK.

williammorfoot.co.uk

Thank you, will give them a call!