Putting in an arena - surface and company recommendations please!

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tatty_v

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We are looking to put an outdoor 20x40 arena in at home. The planning consultants we used for the house and stables are going to do the planning application, but OH has tasked me with researching arena companies and surfaces.

I’d be grateful for any feedback on companies used and also surface suggestions (subject to any planning requirements of course).

It’s a fairly flat, free draining (limestone) site, already fenced. It can get windy, so I don’t want something that’s going to blow away!
 
Following this as I wish to have an arena installed. I have contacted several companies and no one has got back to me. Only one took my details and said someone would ring me and others asked me to email all my details and send photos of proposed site and access which I did. After spending a lot of time doing all this I am somewhat disappointed that I haven’t had even had an acknowledgement- in fact photos haven’t even been looked at. Are all arena companies so booked up that they don’t need the work - I have assured them that I’m not a time waster and have a healthy budget. Should I change my name to Charlotte or Carl???
 
tatty_v said:
We’re midlands, near Milton Keynes ?
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Our yard is in this area and used Elmtree to build the arena about a year ago, and I know of another local place which used them recently. Both are superb with excellent surface, never flood (even though everything else is under water at the moment!), never too deep, they also put an underground watering system which is amazing if you can afford it. It was very expensive but these places are professional yards so worth the investment for them.

Surface they've both used is sand and fibre, no wax.
 
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That’s good to hear about elmtree @DZ2, I’ve ridden on arenas built by them before and been impressed so I’ll get in touch.

@twofatladies88 I’ve contacted several companies and heard nothing back - perhaps they have a full pipeline of work for the year! A response would be nice though, even if it’s just that they don’t have capacity.
 
I’m not far from you. Elmtree are good.
I had a local contractor build mine, and my surface is Flexi Ride by Equestrian direct.
I am pleased with the surface, but the company were abit of a nightmare to deal with, pm me if you want to know more. You are welcome to come and view the surface if you wanted too.
one thing I was unable to do, as I don’t have mains electricity, was to put in a leaky pipes system to keep the surface moist when it’s dry. If you are in a position to do that, I would put that in too.
 
You could search previous threads tatty, there are some companies to avoid, and surfaces which are basically useless. Very useful information.
 
Ive just built one, it was finished just before xmas. I'm based in somerset near lots of quarries, so sourced local stone and sand, but I found a surface supplier on the internet , they were reasonably priced, so i went for it...Its a 50/50 mix of carpet fibres and rubber, and so far I'm really pleased with it. It 'rides' really well and the horses ''spring' nicely off the top of it. The company's called Safer Surfacing and based near liverpool I think. I do think tho, that an arena should have excellent drainage and the best quality silica sand you can afford. I'm hoping my new surface still performs well when the drier months are here...but so far, so good......I'm really chuffed with it.
 
I think there is one on here that everyone is going to worn you about.....
It's only just come on the avoid at all costs lists.....but it has entertained me in the last few days.
 
Well I certainly wouldn't use Shropshire Paddock Care myself, after what I've read their supporters write on this forum!
.
 
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littleshetland said:
Ive just built one, it was finished just before xmas. I'm based in somerset near lots of quarries, so sourced local stone and sand, but I found a surface supplier on the internet , they were reasonably priced, so i went for it...Its a 50/50 mix of carpet fibres and rubber, and so far I'm really pleased with it. It 'rides' really well and the horses ''spring' nicely off the top of it. The company's called Safer Surfacing and based near liverpool I think. I do think tho, that an arena should have excellent drainage and the best quality silica sand you can afford. I'm hoping my new surface still performs well when the drier months are here...but so far, so good......I'm really chuffed with it.
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Hi, I see this post is from last year. Are you still happy with your surface? Has it required frequent watering? My sand school is like a Bahamian beach, without the cocktails ?
 
Hiya...well, yes, it's going really well! It gets a bit dusty when there's no rain, but it's perfectly fine to ride on. It's less dusty that some other arenas. It's very low maintenance and doesn't get 'grooved' even tho I lunge in it as well, although it's very occasionally it's used for jumping. In fact, if I'm honest,I haven't levelled it at all since Ive had it. I meant to get a leveller just after I put it down, but it rides so well I haven't got round to it yet.
I had it put down in the winter of 2020, so when it was new it had a really good soaking which seems to have set it up well. Ive never watered it. I'm not riding on it atm.....it's too blooming' hot!
 
tatty_v said:
We are looking to put an outdoor 20x40 arena in at home. The planning consultants we used for the house and stables are going to do the planning application, but OH has tasked me with researching arena companies and surfaces.

I’d be grateful for any feedback on companies used and also surface suggestions (subject to any planning requirements of course).

It’s a fairly flat, free draining (limestone) site, already fenced. It can get windy, so I don’t want something that’s going to blow away!
Click to expand...
Please don’t use Clarke Equstrian Services. Terrible experience and lost lots of money. I’ve got photos and videos.
 
Astra1973 said:
Please don’t use Clarke Equestrian Services. Terrible experience and lost lots of money. I’ve got photos and videos
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Not just me whos had fun with Clarke Equine Services then? Be interested to see your pics. Here are some of mine. The awful work on the arena is only half of the story, the full situation is way worse than that. The arena was cheaper than most of the other quotes, £25.5k for a 40x25m. Its going to cost more than that again to put it right. Everything that could have been done wrong was done wrong, from not grading the ground flat, not putting enough drains in, no drain exit to a soakaway, not enough clean stone put in and not graded flat, membrane thats the thickness of tissue paper and isnt suitable for an arena so loads of rips, fence posts that werent long enough so they were only 1 foot underground which meant two whole sections fell over, the posts and rails werent treated so they're going rotten now after less than a year, not enough sand so in patches its less than half an inch deep with loads of membrane showing all over the place, when they raked the surface they tore the membrane staples out from the kickboards and tried to hide it. We paid for a sand/fibre mix and if you can see any fibre in it your better then me! The list just goes on!! Maybe we should start a new thread so people can post pics of their horror story arenas from Clarke Equine Services too?

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