Hi, I live in Cobb County, just west of Atlanta, GA. We’re currently looking at horse properties to buy and there are so many trade-offs! One property has a barn, fencing, etc., but no arena! Any ideas what it would cost to build a 20 X 40 dressage arena? The land is relatively flat; however, I’m sure some grading would be required. I realize that each property is unique and that the costs would vary. Thanks in advance!
Any ideas what it would cost to build a 20 X 40 dressage arena?
might start by researching dressage areas as 20 x 40 (which is about 6 meters by 12 meters) is the smallest I have ever heard (our round pen is a 20 meter and it can be small) , my daughter used a 200 by 80 area
Unless the contractor can review the site any costs will be just a wild estimate usually on the low side to get you to accept their bid.
Then you could run into a problem like we are having currently on a project in west Texas… moved some dirt and found a sink hole, they are still dumping dirt into that thing as it is directly in the center of the access to a plant and cannot be moved
1 Like
Clanter, I think she means 20x40 meters. Personally, I would not bother putting up an arena that small for dressage. I would guess at least 10k for base plus plain sand. Depends on sand availability and excavator charges.
1 Like
I just had two guys come out and give me quotes on arenas in Cumming (Forsyth County). Relatively flat land, not a ton of grading other than getting the crown done properly, the setup for the base done, and related drainage so the ring doesn’t flood in the first heavy rain. Arena was spec-ed at 75x150. Looking at doing an M10 base (4-6 inches) and 1.5 inches of river sand on top. One quote was for $19,900 and the other for $19,500. That doesn’t include any kind of fencing.
I liked both contractors I talked to, if you want references!
I’m also building a barn up here, and let me tell you. I’d pick building an arena over building the barn any day. Talk about a money suck and a nightmare with contractors!
2 Likes
Think ahead regarding two factors: one is rain/drainage. Friend here in central fla. can’t use hers right now because we’ve had so much rain and it doesn’t drain well. (see above post). Second, think about the dry season and whether or not you will need/want sprinkler system to water the ring.
1 Like
If you plan on doing any jumping, setting up a decent size course I think you will find that 75X150 will be very tight. Especially if there will be more than one horse in the ring at any given time.
IMO and experience 100X200 is a good size. Adding another 25 to the width and 50 to the length shouldn’t add that much to the cost. Assuming there is room and the over all grade is relativity flat.
It’s pretty much the same as when building a house. A single floor “ranch” style costs X amount. But a 2 story house doesn’t come close to costing twice as much.
1 Like
I am located just north of you and we had a 110’ x 200’ arena put in about two years ago. Topsoil was removed, land was laser graded (2 degree slant to one corner), m-89 compacted base (4"), m-10 top mixed with less than an inch of sand. We also had a fence put around it and along the bottom to hold in the footing. To aid the drainage, we had a small drain put in the corner. The m-89 is slightly larger stone than m-10 and it drains beautifully. We can ride within a couple of hours of a seriously heavy rain. No puddles or soft spots. The total cost for us was just under $30k. It was pricy, but worth every penny to do it well. I agree with gumtree that, if you are jumping, you will want at least 100’ x 200’. We added an extra 10’ to the long side to make more room on the rail if we had a full coarse set up. We also didn’t make a perfect rectangle. We slightly rounded the corners since it was wasted space. it saved a few pennies.
By the way, the type of sand matters! Choose a sand that has grains that are angular and NOT rounded. Manufactured sand is better. River sand will roll under your horse’s feet. Ask me how I know…
1 Like
A 100 X 200 is almost twice the area of a 75 X 150 (77% more area) and arena cost tends to be in proportion to the area as that will dictate the amount of materials needed. It will be quite a bit more for a 100 X 200 than a 75 X 150.
2 Likes
If you understand the building process and how the costs are figured you would understand what I meant. I have done these things myself. I don’t need to hire a company to do it. Will it cost more sure, will cost 77% more, No. At least it shouldn’t if the builder is being fair.
If the OP should realize after the fact that the ring is on the small side and want to add the extra length and width it will cost considerably more than if it had been added at the time of installation. That was my point.
1 Like
there may be a difference in equipment used as the larger size may allow the use of more efficient equipment reducing labor/time on the project costs … not saying there is but it is a lot easier to push dirt with a D9 verses a D2 (ask Bluely)
1 Like
I was just giving an idea on what I had spec-ed for my property. I’m limited on space (4 acres) and can’t take up much more than 75x150 with an arena without sacrificing a ton of other pasture options. Believe me, I’m used to riding in a 100x200+++ and will miss the crap out of it!
1 Like
Yes, we were using a 65 JD450 dozer for decades, got the job done.
Then we had a terrible year with 73" of snow and traded for a JD650G, double the power.
The difference was amazing.
We went from clearing our 5+ miles of road in 9 hours to less than half that time.
Clearing for the county when they needed help, the many miles they take care of, that made a big difference.
The new graders used to build pads can do in one hour what took the old ones a day.
At $100+ an hour, it does count.
Here, to build an outside arena generally tends to run a basic $.50 a square foot, then add to that so much for distance of the job and materials that may have to be hauled in and any extra cost if some materials, like the sand, have to be trucked in from far away.
The pad here generally is regular dirt, watered and packed and dirt added and watered and packed until the desired height, then add the sand.
I expect costs will be very much dependent on where you are, hard to compare.
1 Like
Looking at arena cost in materials, measured in volume (l X w X h). 75X150 is 11,250 square feet. 100X200 is 20,000 square feet. Let’s say at 4 inches deep for the base and 2 inches deep for the footing, that’s 5,625 and 10,000 cubic feet; 208 cu yd and 370 cu yd. Let’s say average of $20/cu yd; $4,160 and $7,400. Big difference.
If contracted out, no you likely won’t have a significant increase in labor costs. But materials, whether you do it yourself or use a contractor, yes.
1 Like
Depends on your soil and how fancy you want to go. We have clay soil here, and just got a quote for an 80x160’ arena with fence for $30K… We are in MN, so prices will probably be different there. If we had sandy soil, I think our costs would be much less.
1 Like
A big chunk of the cost is the equipment rental. It doesn’t matter you (or the contractor) rents it for the small arena or the standard sized one. It is sunk cost once you get it o your place.
Unless it is space limitation, build the standard sized arena instead of the small one. You will find the total cost isn’t that much different.
1 Like
This really helped! Thanks so much. We’re looking at horse property. Some have barns, fencing and arenas and some don’t have anything. It’s a little hard to compare apples to apples. On top of it, there will only be 2-3 horses using the arena (two are ours), so didn’t want anything elaborate. Thanks again!
It took me a year of hard looking to find the place I bought and it didn’t have a barn or any other horse amenities (fence, arena, etc), but the land was good. I have friends who lucked into a small place up here with EVERYTHING (barn, huge arena, covered round pen, fenced paddocks, nice house) for less than $100k more than I paid. I’d consider that a steal at this point.
I’ve been building a barn on my property for the past year. One thing I will say is that building anything is a huge pain. If you can get it all - even if it needs to be renovated - you’re going to be in better shape (and probably spend less). The builders here are absolutely swamped with business right now and I’ve had one scammer screw me and one reputable guy quit for no apparent reason. Nightmare is an understatement for how it has gone. Happy to share names via PM if you you start looking for folks to build and are vetting people.
If all I had to do was an arena, I’d be in MUCH better shape!
1 Like
