Do I need a Base for my arena?

[house]

I am getting ready to build a Dressage arena for my wife, That being said I want to do it correctly. I have done a bit of research and it seems that everyone recommends a 4-6 inch base, that said, my driving arena is 175 x 350 and has been there for about 15 years. aside from harrowing it a couple times a week as exercise for the horses I dont really do much to it. There is no base, I had it cut with a grader and it has a bit of fall to it but I really have no complaints about it, the natural drainage protects it pretty well, so the only real run off it sees is from the water that falls on the arena. My only real complaint is that when it rains for several days with a significant amount of water(which in southern california is not often) I do get some pooling at the bottom of the arena from where the footing berms up under the fence. which is really no big deal, I might loose use of the that part of the arena for 4-5 days a year which is fine, If I get an urge to use it the rest is normally fine.

I guess I am fortunate enough that the soil where I live is mostly composed of Decomposed Granite, so my question is what advantage would I have while constructing my new arena with a base of gravel or something of the sort? rather than just leveling it out then compacting it with a dozer on top, and turning it with my spring tooth harrow down to the desired depth? just curious what my advantages would be and if it is worth the extra cost?

Thanks for your input

[wsmoak]

It realllly depends. How many people will be using it, how often? Is your wife of the same mindset that if there is a wet spot she’ll just avoid it until it dries? Or does she have training deadlines and competition goals requiring that the arena always be perfect and usable? If she wants it Done Right and you are going to take the blame if the arena is ever problematic… then I would advise following the USDF’s “Under Foot” booklet to the letter!

If I were building an arena here, I’d be hauling in decomposed granite (M10) for the base. If you already have it there, then compacting what you have and grading it for runoff will probably work just fine. Especially because you’ve already done it before and you know how your land and soil work with the local weather.

[enjoytheride]

Why can’t she use your arena? Let’s start there. That’ll determine if you need another arena and what needs to be done with it

[Palm_Beach]

Usually the base separates the cushion from the regular ground, and keeps the regular ground (dirt) from mixing with the cushion when it rains and it all gets soft and squishy. In my area, we have red clay dirt, and most places do some kind of stone dust packed base after grading and compacting the dirt. Then a cushion is spread over the stone dust base.

[house]

So I am accurate that it is mostly for drainage? From what I understand my current arena is quite large to do dressage in, and I hate to set it up inside and have to take it down and put it back up to drive in. Finally I like the arena bit harder to drive in than my wife likes to ride in. Plus I have a space for it outside a barn/mare motel on steroids I am putting up.

[enjoytheride]

The base is for drainage, to provide a consistent surface, and to keep your footing from disappearing.

[SCF01]

Where I live, there are many “western” arenas that are just like your driving arena. Im having that same setup built now. Its 1/4 the total cost of the arenas Im use to. If it turns out not to work for my needs, Ill have a compacted base added and build like the USDF booklet recommends.