We built a 60 by 150 with 30 feet for stall area so riding section was 60 by 120. It works but can be tight, especially for jumping. I would suggest you consider doing site preparation for a longer building but build at least 60 wide and as long as your budget allows. Have them put an expansion truss on the end. When your finances allow, you can then extend the length to what seems best for your needs.
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Our last barn was done this way and it worked fine. With 8â poles and some creativity, you could set a course although we were limited to 3 stride lines down the rail. I donât think it would have worked nearly as well at 50â wide.
Summertown built our new covered arena. They were great to work with even though the project took longer than expected. It would be hard to beat their prices for the quality. 
Good ideaâŠbut the cost increase from 50 wide to 60 wide is a WHOLE lot!
After a lot of thought I am going to pay around $10,000 more for 60x120. Now on to the next issue. The base. I know for outdoor arenas you have to spend a lot to build up/compact the base and crown for water run off. Since this is going to be covered is it possible to just have someone level the ground with dirt, compact with a roller and add sand on top for the arena? Thanks!
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Right, using very clean plain dirt, watered and packed and level is a good base.
Then add clean, âtriple washedâ sand for footing.
That has worked well for us for some years.
Just be sure not to put too much sand, start very light and ride in it, then add some more if you need to.
You will be very happy you went the extra width.
Canât ever have enough width, but can always add to the length if needed later.
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Trying to post again, see if the editing glitch clears?
Posted fine, when trying to edit, it went to âunapprovedâ.
Right, using very clean plain dirt, watered and packed and level is a good base.
Then add clean, âtriple washedâ sand for footing.
That has worked well for us for some years.
Just be sure not to put too much sand, start very light and ride in it, then add some more if you need to.
You will be very happy you went the extra width.
Canât ever have enough width, but can always add to the length if needed later.
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Iâve been stuck in a 60â round pen for two years (arena going in this month wahoo!) and it SUCKS. I have a 16hh WB, so really forget cantering at all. Itâs totally doable on the 13.2hh pony but you get sick of circles.
Did you ask how tall the cover would be with the $25,000 quote? Make sure you height at the lowest part of the cover is at least 16â for riding. Did that quote also include labor and construction? Also realize that you will need to pay for site prep before the cover goes up, that can cost a few thousand depending on what you need done.
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We got a quote for site prep and it was $15,000. Yes quote included it being installed. They are using 20ft post so it will be over 14ft clearance. I will only be doing flat work so 14ft should be enough.
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It includes the finished arena footing too? Man I wish⊠Iâm paying more than that on just an outdoor arena 
Took the words right out of my mouth. My BO insisted on 80 foot width for the arena so there was enough room to canter. You can do 2 corners with a short straight between them. It cut down on the choice of building styles. The so-called Cover All buildings required a substantial foundation when the width went above 70 feet. We also didnât know if the roof would need replacing at the 20 year mark. They could be constructed so the length could be extended without a problem. Cost-wise it made more sense to invest in the steel building which is what she did. Itâs about 20 years old now and in good shape.
When building a riding arena, that space is expensive.
I would try to keep as much of it as you can to ride in, for arena.
You can add cheaper an overhang on any of the four sides and put the stalls, tack/feed room and storage areas for other under there also at a cheaper cost for that square footing than the considerably bigger structure of an arena, which is also more expensive to build.
That is what we did, have a covered arena and an overhang along a long side for stalls, etc.
That section doesnât need the height the riding part needs, can be short initially and added to later, etc.
Hope that makes sense?
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@Laurenpiper I look forward to the photos of your new barn when it is built. The prices you are getting are amazing.
Weâre on gravel so just leveled it, put some sand on top, and then cut a shallow swale all the way around it to drain the rain and melting snow (that slides off the roof) away from the barn.
Yes. Thereâs no reason to plan to use part of the indoor for stalls when they can be built much more economically. If I needed more stalls I would have built my indoor a little taller though, so that the high side of roof for the stalls would be higher so the low side would have more head room. In fact, I think the ends if the indoor would be the better place for the stalls because there wouldnât be any snow sliding off the roof and clogging up the doors.
Stalls on the sides or ends will also help stabilize the indoor when itâs windy.
If I need to put a stall in the indoor I just set up a temporary space with round pen panels so that I can take them down easily.
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50 ft is about 15 meters⊠so it would be tight but better than nothing. I have not been able to ride here at home for most of the last week due to rainâŠ
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Update: I set up ground poles for the size of 60x100. I tried very hard to ride in there comfortably as I really wanted to make this work out. I increased the size to 60ft wide which increased the price to $37,000. Plus site prep of $15,000 Iâm over $50,000. The size 60x100 was not comfortable to ride in. Iâm soooo conflicted because I want to ride year around but I canât justify 50k for an arena that feels too tight to ride in comfortably. Iâm thinking about using this money to build a small barn plus an outdoor arena. I know the barn will be around $20,000 but I donât know if I can build an âall weatherâ outdoor for $30,000. The largest size outdoor would be 125x140 max. I wouldnât have room for anything bigger. This is so frustrating because realistically I donât know how often I could ride if I donât have something covered. Anyone with âall weatherâ footing please tell me how often you ride in the winter. This past winter it felt like it rained almost everyday from December-March. Iâm in the south so we donât get snow. Thanks!
Could you save like mad for another year, find ways to ride somewhere under a roof that takes in day rides for now?
Take a measuring wheel or tape with you and measure every place you can access to ride.
Eventually you will have enough to build what you want and a better idea of your minimum size.
Some times it takes a little longer to get what we want, but is ok, you will get there and wiser too.
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Iâm building right now an all-weather arena that will be just short of $30k, at 70x150. Iâll be VERY happy with the size, honestly. I live where it is just as dreary and sometimes snows, and cost of everything is higher :yes: Go for it, remember skin is waterproof and you can oil your tack!
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In what ways did you find 60 X 100â uncomfortable to ride in?
Blueyâs idea is a good one, and also consider the possibility that once the novelty wears off you may not want to ride as much as you think you will now.
Back when we built my indoor I was working full time so it wasnât easy to find a good time to ride in the winter before or after work, and if my dh hadnât been so supportive I might have just given up. I did have the weekends, but there was a lot of maintenance associated with the indoor, so thatâs something to consider, too.
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