Ok, I have searched and searched the forums and everything I seem to find is old or can’t find what I am looking for. We are in the middle of building our arena that will be used for hunter/jumper lessons and shows. It is a 150x200 arena. The problem is, we are right in the middle of the western world here in Mississippi, so everybody that does areas, does them for barrel racers and ropers. So when I start telling them what I need, they look at me like I have grown 2 heads. I have literally spent months researching footing for the arena because the people around here are telling me a million different things and I have found that no 2 arenas are alike! So I need some help from people that are in the hunter/jumper world!! I originally wanted to use river sand but it is extremely hard to get now and if you can find it, it is expensive. I have had contractors tell me to do a 60/40 mix of sand and dirt. My base I am not worried about, that I have under control. I am strictly looking for what kind of footing everyone uses and how many inches you have in your arena that works. What do y’all think about sand/dirt mixture? Would it compact down with the jumping like I think it would do or am I wrong? Thank you all for your help!!
I know people that have used a river sand, but it’s not my favorite.
In Ohio, IME, people on a budget typically use Masonry sand or washed concrete sand. If concrete sand, must get washed, or it is very dusty and compacts quickly.
Here in Florida apparently the common material is a sand/clay mix, which I detest. I’ll be doing masonry sand if I ever get to do my own arena.
A sand/dirt mix is probably fine as long as it is regularly groomed to keep from compacting. Dirt is supposed to help it hold moisture, I believe.
Bottom line is, you need a subangular sand that won’t compact and isn’t slippery (beach sand is round and slippery). The biggest problem you’ll have with the western arena builders is depth, not footing type. Western disciplines typically go much deeper than is safe for jumping. The recommended depth is 2", max 3", for jumping, and it’s definitely better to start with LESS, and add more as needed, instead of the other way around. I would calculate how much is needed for 2" and order that much to start with. For you, that’ll be about 185 cubic yards / 250 tons.
There’s a really cool footing… which I can’t remember the name of, that my friend did her arena in. Let me do some research, I’d never heard of it before but it’s AMAZING stuff. It hardly needs watered, looks beautiful, rides great, doesn’t pack.
Do not use river sand!!! It’s the exact opposite of what you want. River sand is super smooth, as it’s been worn down by the flow of water. There’s very little purchase to it and the hoof will slide right through it. It will ride deep and luggy. You want a coarse, angular sand if you’re using 100% sand. Only use river sand if you’re mixing it with something that will help bind it and give it some stability!!
The biggest two differences with the western folk is depth, as was already mentioned, and putting in a base. Many western people don’t need or want a base as their needs are quite different from ours. I had to convince my western husband that we needed a base layer. He thought that the natural clay dirt would be good enough. I explained that without a base layer, the clay would be incredibly slick underneath. He begrudgingly agreed. Recently an old friend of his put in an arena without a base layer, and had a couple horses fall down in it. They’re in the process of pulling the sand up and installing a proper base on my husband’s recommendation.
An arena doesn’t need to be fancy. An angular sand of proper depth (2-3 inches) with a good compacted base layer (limestone or stone dust) will do just fine. You don’t need the fancy fiber and rubber materials…of course if you can afford it, by all means!
Ok it’s called “IKG Water free/Dust free high performance footing”-- zero dust, zero water. I’m trying to find a link, just looked her up on her FB page where she has it on her barn’s webpage.
The FEI has a book on building arenas based on budgets. I used it to build a dressage court for under $2500.
https://inside.fei.org/fei/about-fei/publications/fei-books
Equestrian Surfaces - A Guide
This document has been produced by the Swedish Equestrian Federation’s reference group for riding surfaces. The reference group and its advisors include representatives of equestrian sport, riding schools and the Equestrian Federation, equine veterinary scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and specialists with extensive practical experience of riding arena construction.
Traditionally, advice on the construction of riding arena surfaces have been based on experience and personal opinion, which can be subjective and lacking scientific rigour. In recent years this has changed, as research methods and equipment have been developed by scientists. This has allowed testing and analysis of riding surface properties, and their effects on the horse to be quantified.
While this scientific work is still ongoing, the aim of the guide is to share current scientific data that applies to equestrian surfaces, in combination with practical know-how from experienced arena specialists.
The FEI decided to finance a translation to English. The English version was reviewed by an international panel of leading biomechanics and equine surface researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom.
Thank you for this link!
I just built an arena. Limestone screenings base (maybe called something else up north). You have to research your terminology! Its is 1/4 " minus. Watered and compacted. Then the top footing is granite sand. A manufactured sand, so very angular. So far I love it. NOT to be mistaken for granite gravel, which is not as fine.
That being said, I have a private arena, 115 x 220, and it’s just me. I have a friend who has a boarding barn who also used granite sand, but she adds a dust inhibitor.
The only thing I might do differently is add a bit of tennis shoe stuff from Premier in the future.
I started with only about 2 1/2 inches of granite sand over the base to start. I want my base to pack hard before I add more sand. Ideally, I would have let the base cook in the Texas sun for a year before adding sand.
I do not like deep footing, but I jump max 2’6". Others may have different opinions on depths.
Thank y’all so much for all of your information and links! It has been more helpful than you know! Seriously footing has been a pain to research because no 2 arenas are alike and everyone has different experiences. I had one guy tell me I need 6" and I was like, yeah if I want my horses to be permanently lame, they could never get off the ground in 6" of sand/dirt. Again, I really appreciate all of the responses!!
Yes. You want angular sand. Some of the footing companies will do an analysis if you submit sand samples. I would avoid using dirt. It is very dusty and tends to compact over time, making for a hard surface that you will constantly struggle with. Your sand will break down into fines soon enough. No need to add dirt.
Consider having one of the national/regional footing companies come in to give advice and estimates. Yes they are expensive and they will try to sell you the “gold standard” but they have the appropriate experience, are able to price a variety of options and you will gain some invaluable advice; all for free!
Get sand samples. You want an angular sand, not a beach sand. Washed.
Western riders will use a lot of dirt or clay in the footing and it will be way too deep for jumping. Dirt = dust.
Jarpur, I can’t buy the sand for $2,500. It’s about $20 a ton (with shipping). Good for you. Shipping really kills you on an arena.
My goal is to do my base this fall, regrade any low spots and then add footing next year. I’ve never spent as much time researching anything in my life!
I was quoting RAyers - he’s the one who spent the $2500.
But I agree on the shipping!
I love my footing! We had a contractor pull up 4" of the dirt to prep the base, installed 4" of bluestone, crowned and compacted, then 3" of fill sand over. Fill sand did fine for us, it was coarse and had just a LITTLE bit of clay which helped hold moisture without being slippery. MAKE SURE YOUR BASE IS CROWNED or graded so you aren’t riding in a bowl in a few years. That is the #1 mistake I see people make. We have had our ring 6 years now and just now had to fill in a few low spots. We did an 2 board fence around it and put a baseboard around the bottom to hold the footing in since it was crowned. Without that the footing would have washed out within a year or two.
After moving to a new facility last fall, we recently rehabbed both our indoor and outdoor arenas with Trutex fibers, as the existing sand in there was absolutely awful. Hard in some spots, deep and shifty on the track and got dusty REALLY quickly unless watered practically every other day :no: dragging it helped but it would only feel ok for a couple of rides and then need doing again.
I knew I wanted fibers as we had been using those at the previous farm and I liked how they rode and held the moisture a bit more too. I got several quotes from different companies but it was looking really expensive and almost impossible to be able to do both rings. Plus, they all pretty much wanted me to pull the sand out of the arenas and then start over with better stuff. YUCK! It was turning into a massive project and I definitely didn’t have the budget to replace the sand as well.
Anyway, I eventually found Trutex footing that doesn’t have to be mixed with one specific sand type and it has worked beautifully. So much more stable and I don’t get hard spots at all now either.
If I were to start over from scratch, of course I would go with a more suitable sand to begin with (the one we have is very round grains rather than angular or sub-angular) but I have to say, the fibers have made a massive difference and it feels like a totally new arena footing. My boarders and students all love it too 
