Hi all! Well we are in process of putting in our riding arena. So excited. Due to the slope of our lot, one long side is “cut in” and will have a feathered gradual hill leading down to arena…arena will be raised of course w/proper drainage. The original plan was to straw and seed the hill but I don’t want to mow or maintain it. Has anyone done decorative stone? I don’t want a retaining wall. It is probably a 5 foot hill total but obviously gradual slope. Would love pics too!
My daughter has a decorative concrete retaining wall that is stamped to look like stone… It looks nice and is easier than trying to mow a steep hill. It also makes a great mounting block and a cross country jump!
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Don’t rule out a retaining wall completely. You could put in a low wall to minimize the slope above it and catch sediments which erode. If you make it around 16" or 17" tall and deep enough to sit on comfortably with a nice thick cap (stone, concrete or even wood), it could function as long bench seating. (Be sure and have the FINISHED height no more than 17" if you want it to be comfortable for people. If you are going to add cushions to sections, take that into account and reduce the height accordingly).
Of course a stone front would look great, but another idea is to have the thick bench top overlap a few inches in front of the wall so that the material underneath is not as visible.
Mowing on a hill is a pain, so I would avoid grasses of any kind on the sloped part. The plants to use will depend on what part of the country you are in. Dry climate? Cold snowy winters? Rainy and buggy? Those conditions will influence your plant choices. One way to pick good shrubs is to drive around your area and see what grows well and appeals to you.
Here’s one with a built up back:
dd1662863bbca058d9bd6d50f514de9e–build-a-bench-backyard-patio.jpg
Here’s an idea which combines a wall with a second wall to create a patio:
patio_51.jpg
The wall doesn’t have to be straight. It can curve or meander. You can put cut-ins or cut-outs to give visual interest or provide a spot for a large potted plant or sculpture like this wall (which to me, has a cap which is too shallow for comfortable seating. Also, it looks a bit too high for more than uncomfortable perching).
c8c623c10c06bd1f269f9cd680395104–backyard-patio-patio-wall.jpg
Pinterest is your friend. I got most of these ideas from this page:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/104145810103331265
Don’t forget to consider steps:
7079f2f706d92fb744c6dbde1ee71eed–sleeper-retaining-wall-garden-retaining-walls.jpg
WAIT! I forgot about the fence! A bench at ground level is not a good idea because you will be looking through the fence rather than over it. Better to have a short wall and benches set in above the wall (higher up the slope) rather than use the wall itself, if you even want to have seating, which you may well not want.
I just did exactly the same thing with my arena. I’m planning to put landscape timbers at the bottom to create a visual edge and then plant ground cover… Like you I don’t want to have to mow/weed whack so no grass for me. I’m thinking something that won’t go nuts and need a lot of maintenance but something pretty that will cover up the exposed ground.
A few ideas I was looking at:
I did this 20 years ago. I did easy to maintain plants and landscaping.
Here is a photo showing a dressage arena with a low stone wall:
https://rachaeldownsdressage.files.w…/01/arena2.jpg
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My arena is built in a similar way. We planted pine trees at the top of the slope and Chinese Elms closer to the arena for shade and wind control. The area in between we just leave alone … and weed whack once a year. The shade from the trees keeps down the worst of the weeds, though in the last two years the Japanese Stilt Grass has taken over the area (it loves shade).
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this link is a photo of mine (first in the series) but the wall isn’t ours, it was a “temporary” solution that was put into place over thirty years ago and it still looks the same as the photo. the wall is stacked bags of concrete mix… the paper bags wear off after time
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A retaining wall can work out kind of nicely, as many people have mentioned. I grew up riding in an arena with one and the area above made for a great place to sit.
You don’t say your area but there are such things as low-growing groundcover plants that don’t have to be mowed. You want one of those and you want them thoroughly covering that hill so that grasses can’t get mixed in. Go to a nursery or an extension agent or a landscaping person near you and pick their brain about what will work for your soil and climate and slope. It’s really important to have something that will grow in thickly in a low maintenance way if you won’t or can’t mow it.
If you don’t want a retaining wall and you want rock, rip-rap is what Caltrans does to stabilize a slope. That’s really really big rocks. It might not be affordable.
If you do end up needing to mow it, goats are kinda awesome for that kind of job, and sometimes you can hire them in. 
I love the stamped stone/decorative concrete walls!! And honestly, I’d be jumping out too
^^^^ This. Water goes down hill. What is going to happen if you have a big storm with lots of rain, which is going to run down the hill and into your ring? You need to give the water someplace to go that will not wash dirt into your arena or footing out of your arena.
I am also a fan of retaining walls. It’s really going to help keep footing in and everything else out. Very important on the downhill side.
Nice!!!
PS - “swale”
Oops - just fixed swale 
I only know that because Swale was a good horse…
UPDATE! My arena is done and I couldn’t be happier The slope isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It’s in the process of being fenced in now but so happy with size, footing and location. I plan on landscaping the slope in some way with easy to maintain flowers/rocks. We’ve had so much rain that the grass that was planted grew almost immediately.
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Looks great, good job.
What do you use to groom the arena?
There are others asking that, may love to know what you use, the finish looks so nice.
He used some kind of machine and groomed it several different directions when he was done with it. He recommended a basic groomer from Tractor Supply that I can pull with my Gator. Nothing fancy. Tines on one side, smooth on the other. He told me that for the first 6 months I would mostly need to just smooth and not to “overdrag” it. He said I should only have to spend $400 or so vs. getting anything fancy for $900+. I guess we’ll see :)!
Interesting, thank you for the answer.
We were also told not to groom but very lightly, the fine sand they put will kind of self-maintain otherwise and it has done just that.
What size is your arena…
The size is 80 x 160
