I am looking to install a small arena for my personal use on a private farm. I don’t need the best footing, but want a nice area. How much can I expect to pay? Maybe 150’ x 80’?
This is a hard answer to give because it depends VERY much on your location, ease of access to materials, and how much you want to do yourself.
So far my arena has cost:
Labor/earthmoving 8k
Road underlayment 2k
Stone dust 9k
Footing $400
I still need to purchase and install fencing and will need some more sand. I expect another 3k for all of that.
So my expected total cost is around 22 to 23k for a 130x250 arena.
If I lived about 100 miles north of me, the cost would have been significantly less; probably more around 12k because the stonedust is essentially free.
If I had lived 300 miles south of me, the cost would have been more around 5k; the soil is sand down there and most people just level, drag to their desired depth, pull any rocks, and add some rubber or fabric additive.
If I still lived in Washington state, my arena probably would have cost more like 50k, because the soil is not good for compaction so you need to bring in clay and a lot of gravel to handle the amount of rain.
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I live in WA state and was recently quoted $100k to redo an existing arena (base and everything). I believe our arena is about 60’x120’ ish
It really depends, as the above poster said.
My friend had a significantly smaller arena done for $75k and that was the base + footing in an existing arena.
My advice is to get a couple of quotes and decide what, if anything, you can do yourself.
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I paid 10k in 2021 to add on 100x 60 feet including clearing of topsoil, sand, base, and drainage stone. Most of that was in labor and trucking and costs have gone up post Covid.
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As others have responded it varies depending on what you have to work with and your location. Do you have a relatively level cleared area with good drainage already so minimal excavation is required? Do you have a decent soil base? Cost of labor and materials are up. Do you want all
weather footing that will hold up to soaking rain? Do you need footing that is suitable for jumping? For that size ring I would estimate a minimum of 20k these days at best, and perhaps upwards of 50k in certain cases. Get a couple quotes if you can and get recommendations from other horse folks. Having one done right is a lot better than having to redo after spending all that money.
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Very hard to answer as said, because location, native footing, and what sort of grading has to be done will make things vary a lot.
But, as another N=1 for my 180x100 ring. I wanted 200x100, but a tree I was unwilling to move made the extra 20’ not possible.
18-ish years ago, mine cost about $20k, north-central NC. One reason it wasn’t more was that I used a guy who did commercial road grading for a living, and arenas (including horse) on the side, so he had his own big equipment, but could do this stuff on “personal” costs, not company costs.
Mine is on a slope, so the high end had to be dug out, starting around 6’, and as he dug out from the high side he raised the low side. Mine slopes from the high side to the low side, across the length, so less time had to be spent calibrating slope from the middle out. And, obviously, no extra dirt had to be brought in to level things.
The local quarry is relatively close, which kept delivery costs down a little, and it also helps that they had LARGE trucks that could carry more in the same time and distance. I don’t remember at all what I paid for the base (8" of screened sandrock), or the footing (3" of screenings/bluestone). I actually rode on the base (sandrock) for a couple months and intended to for a year or so, but it was Summer, and it was compacting and getting hard so fast I was having to constantly drag, so I just got it finished then instead of waiting. The base was rolled again (same vibrating tamper as the sub-base), compacting that 8" down to about 6" I think, and then the bluestone brought in.
Our property is entirely red clay, so virgin soil (where it was dug out) is already hard as a rock, and wetting down looser clay (low end, built up) allows it to be compacted like a rock, which meant there was no need to put any geotextile fabric down to prevent the base from being “eaten” by the sub-base
That didn’t include the fencing, but I only had to pay for the posts to be put in, as I just used the same Horseguard tape that was already my pasture fencing. And, I fenced it in only because it’s inside the pasture (1 long side is part of an exterior fenceline) and didn’t want horses traipsing through it all the time.
Talk to local people to find out who they’ve used, how happy they were, footing, any issues especially if it’s been more than a couple of years, etc
I will say that 150x80 is a bit small. A 20m circle is 60’. I can’t imagine mine any shorter or narrower. 100’ in width only gives a few straight canter strides, and 80 would mean basically no, or at most maybe 1 straight stride. You’d get 1, maybe 2 more if you have ponies. 150’ may be fine if you have smaller horses, but I wouldn’t want any smaller for 16.2-17h horses I have/had. You can always circle when you need and want, but not having enough room for useful straight canter strides can’t be fixed.
You don’t need “the best footing”, but you DO need the best for your use. Most people don’t need rubber or fiber or whatever’s the “best” for high traffic show venues. DO invest in excellent sub-base, base, compacting and grading, because that will make all the top footing that much better. Mine is still excellent all these years later, it’s rideable in fairly short order after even heavy rains, though days of rain does make it too wet to do more than walk in, partly because it only slopes 1 way, so it just takes longer for LOTS of rain to get off it
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I was quoted $200,000 to redo my 240x115 outdoor arena.
I about died, to be honest.
And I’m not doing it.
Oh well.
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I redid my 205x109 arena (which lost a couple feet all around for the grading) and just the base was 56k.
i’m in PA. i chose fancy footing, but good old C33 sand works well too. The base is usually the expensive part due to the need for grading and many inches of base material. You don’t want to skimp on the base, because you will have many other problems later. I’m not saying the base has to cost 55k, but just to prioritize that aspect.
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150x170ish (not straight sides and is about half of the final arena size, we’re just doing half for now), $370k including under-footing irritation system. Started with bare dirt, Northern CA.
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Putting one in here - we’ll be north of 150k when completed. It is shocking how expensive it is.
I know our Nor Cal rainy season begins soon but would appreciate it if you could eventually update us on your subsurface irrigation. They are supposed to use much, much less water than standard overhead sprinklers. Could be a game changer in our drought. Thanks.
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Absolutely! I did a ton of research because the ring is going to be huge and I’m moving from a property with no water (we’ve had to buy from the neighbor for the past 5 years 
).
Tbh, the initial calculation is that it takes quite a bit of water because GGT/felt additives need more water. What I was quoted by the builder was 1,500 a day minimum for ~30k sq ft. That varies based on fog/sun.
I’m coming from pure sand (no additive) where I’d like to ideally put 1,000 gallons on it a day (which I don’t have). I can get away with 1,000 a few days a week but the ring is dry by the afternoon (I water at 5am before the wind so the most water as possible gets on the sand). By 1-2pm with direct sun, it’s pretty dry. However in the winter when there’s a rain of water the footing is LOVELY.
I’m hoping with the subsurface irrigation I can still get away with less water because I can water it throughout the day, thereby keeping it moist instead of the wet/dry cycle everyday.
Only time will tell!
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YIKES!!
I put in a 70x150 (I think?) in 2020 that included topsoil removal, dealing with a ~4’ drop over the diagonal that required cutting into one side and building on the other, base and foot, then the cost of the fencing materials (my Dad installed the fence, I painted and “helped”), and it was ~$15k. I think the guy underbid slightly but not that much. Two years later I paid ~$4k for a french drain to be run along the three up sides, so all told probably $20k plus some thises and thatses costs-wise. Not sure your work but wow!
I just got a quote for $42k for a 100x100; may look at changing the dimensions so it’s more of a rectangle than a square. Not as big as I’d ideally like, but can’t presently afford the 100x200 I would love to have. I’m waiting on a quote from one other guy before we pull the trigger. I am in NC.
