Ask and you shall receive:
I want to preface this by saying that there is no replacement for a professionally installed arena. If you run a business that encounters a lot of arena traffic or train high performance, get a professional involved. Find someone who is experienced with arena construction. This isn’t a shameless plug, it’s the honest to gosh truth. It is not rocket science, but it is a very specific niche that isn’t widely understood. What I outline below isn’t the best way to do it, but it is a way to do it and one of the more economical for those who are doing the majority of the work themselves. It’s not wrong, but it’s not ideal. I’ve tried to keep this as simplified but informative as possible. Do with this info what you please! Hopefully it helps someone along the way.
Here we go -
Expectation: Be reasonable. You can build a nice enough, fully functional arena on a budget, but it won’t compare to the big venues or luxurious facilities. That’s okay, your horse probably doesn’t care (unless you’re schooling heights that make me want to vomit or dancing in the big arenas… see my mention about contacting a professional).
Placement/Location: Don’t rush. Get to know your property and how the weather interacts with your native soil. Pick a reasonable spot that won’t need significant grading or dirt work. Make note on how the water falls in that area specifically. If it’s the low spot on your property, pick a different spot (unless you’re willing to bring in literal tons of fill to raise the area above the water plain and have patience to let it settle for a good while).
BASE: Your base is inarguably the most important component of an arena. Unfortunately, it’s also the most variable due to the extensive nature of native soils. If you have a budget or plan to sub some of the work out, this is where to put your money. I will continue to stress this.
In a nutshell, regardless of where in the world you are, you want to grade your subbase to a 1 degree slope. Remember when I told you to make note of how the water moves? This is where that comes into play. Grade your sub to fall in the direction your water flows – the long side is preferred as there’s less length to cover. If you are able to hire an excavator, make sure they have a laser level otherwise don’t waste your money. If you’re a weekend warrior, you can rent a laser level kit from your local home improvement store. Compact after leveling. A plate tamper really isn’t sufficient enough, although better than nothing. If you can, rent a vibrating drum roller. This is the part that’s really worth contracting out.
If you are lucky enough to live in an area that drains super well, you CAN get away with adding footing from here. I don’t recommend it, but you can do it. It might take a little longer to drain and be ridable, but so be it. You have to be REALLY careful dragging, but you know this. Beggars can’t be choosers.
If you live some place that drains horribly and consists of CLAY everywhere, such as PA, or you have a little bit of extra money to play with, keep reading:
After the subbase is complete, put down a liner. Non-woven is preferred, but if someone is practically giving away enough woven landscape fabric on Facebook marketplace, SCORE. It will be fine enough.
You’ll need to install a compacted aggregate as your actual base. Every quarry has a different line card and product names vary – you’re looking for 3/8” minus or, crusher run (21A’s), road base, etc. You don’t want anything super fine because it will clog the liner, but you also don’t want anything too large or smooth (like gravel) otherwise you won’t get firm compaction. 6” is ideal. 4” is fine. 2” is better than nothing. Level flat. Compact, preferably after it rains and it’s damp BUT not if there are standing puddles. Again, drum roller would be best, but at this point you CAN get away with a tamper. If you can’t do either, be patient and let mother nature do the work. Let it rain, and rain, and rain – it will compact over time but it will take several months. If you choose to let the weather do the work, resist the urge to ride on it. It can be done and has been done, but integrity of the base will suffer. WHICH MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS!
Footing: This is seriously the easiest part. Pick an angular or subangular sand. This is 110 % preference based. If you like firmer footing and are committed to dragging it regularly, pick an angular (ex: quartzite). If you like a little more cushion and “give” and plan to drag with a chain harrow once a week with a beverage in hand, I’d suggest a subangular (ex: concrete sand).
Quarries have several blends available and my concrete sand isn’t the same as your concrete sand. Seriously, there’s no consistency. Don’t hesitate to ask for samples so you can get a feel for them. You want something that packs a little bit, sort of like a snowball. Don’t be afraid to ask about their specialty blends. I’ve seen some bunker blends that pique my curiosity. Ball field sand/clay mix? That might be your style. If you get a lot of weather, you may want to look into something a little coarser - and definitely something washed without clay/silt blended.
When you calculate you footing, less is more. Start with 2”, spread level, water it, and see how that feels. The air pockets will dissolve over time and it won’t be so fluffy, but you can always add more! Having to remove sand is an absolute PITA.
Arena Maintenance: It’s important when you drag your arena, you do it correctly. There are a ton of resources online that will explain it better than I do. Drag before you water. Obviously arenas need moisture otherwise they get dry and dusty and the sand will breakdown faster. If you live a dry environment, think about how you plan to tackle that. I’ve seen and devised some pretty creative solutions.
Should you add some type of kickboard to keep the footing in? Yes. After you’ve done the base, but before you add footing. A lot of times you can find rail road ties for cheap through FB or CL. They shift and kinda annoy me because I feel like they’re never perfectly in line, but they work all the same. Otherwise you can do boards either standalone or attached to your fence. You can also get away with doing only the side that drains. Or you don’t at all and accept that you will have some washout and will have to add more material in a few years.
If anyone has questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability.
ETA: No one is getting rich off of building arenas, at least we aren’t (I say that confidently). The cost of fuel and material is outrageous. You will benefit greatly financially if you can utilize your closest quarry.
