I need to irrigate my outdoor arena which is 145 x 225. Spoke with a company today who recommends installing 10 pop up steel sprinkler heads throughout the arena. We talked at length about how a drag and the pounding of horses hooves would affect such a system. The heads would be placed 3-4 inches underground. I’ve never heard of installing sprinkler heads inside an arena. I’d appreciate any thoughts. Have you ever seen this done successfully?
It sounds like that company is treating your arena as a gigantic lawn. No, I will not put it inside the arena. They should be installed outside the perimeter of the arena, and yes, it will make the whole system so much more expensive…
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My irrigation guy suggested that too. He says they are used in soccer fields, and is convinced horses will be no different. FALSE I say!
I am experimenting with this type of sprinkle on the perimeter of my grass outdoor. I only did one short side which is about 160 feet, and three do a pretty good job to keep that side damp. The ones I have spray about 30’ in with a 180 degree arc. I told him no head to head coverage was necessary, which he also wanted to do.
For me, the jury is still out on the in-ground ones. Mine are placed about an inch or so inside my arena fence, which worries me a little, but so far so good. He said he had to do them inside to keep the fence posts out of the way. I asked why he didn’t just make the arc shorter, say 170 degrees instead of 180 degrees, but he insisted. But it is just me and I don’t ride the rail that much. They go flush with the top of the sand when not in use, but IMO no bueno if a horse were to step on them.
My bottom line – no for the inside of the arena. Jury still out for perimeter use unless you can get them under your fence.
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To the Nines - this guy told me the EXACT same thing about sports fields. I also wonder about the impact on a horses leg if it comes down on top of one of those heads after a jump. My gut is telling me this is type of a system is wrong.
Yeah that’s what my gut told me too. I would not want them inside the arena.
They seem fine on the perimeter. They are very slightly inside the fence, but so far I haven’t worried about them there. But as I said, it’s only me and I don’t tend to ride the rail.
I wonder how they irrigate polo fields?
Some may have in-ground irrigation system, but the ones I’ve seen are the reel type with wheel and gigantic guns.
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I am in Wellington in the winter. None of the polo fields I’ve seen use in ground sprinklers in the arena itself, nor do any of the billions of hunter/jumper or dressage arenas. My arena has 3 heads on each long side, outside the fence, and one on each short side (66x198 dressage arena). They are set to go off at night, 1/2 at a time. They overlap so that I have full coverage (I have great drainage). If you were doing this where it freezes, I guess you would have to put the pipes below the frost line, or drain the system in the winter.
I’ve decided to forego the sprinkler heads inside the arena. Now my question is do I put them on the ground around the perimeter or would it be better to run PVC up the fence posts and put the sprinkler heads on top of the posts. I have seen this done at another farm and it works well. (He actually ran his PVC above the ground around his arena.) I guess the question is - does it really matter if they’re on the ground or on the posts? Does one offer an advantage over the other?
The big problem is how much water is available. You could use 4-6 - miniguns but they use a lot. Another thought would be to mount pop-up heads in the top rail of your fence. Of course, these would have to be drained down in the fall.
I am experimenting with them for my outdoor grass arena. It is 220 x 160, and I do not really expect to get coverage to the middle. I am trying out perimeter pop-ups in the ground along one short side. I like that I don’t have to worry about freezing. Three along the short side, each with 180 degree coverage, water the short side about 30’ in.
I nixed the gun types because that seemed dangerous, sticking up over the arena fence. The pop-ups go behind the fence rail when not operating.
The installer insisted on putting them an inch or so inside the arena fence, and so far they are not a problem. But I stay off the rail when I ride. I asked him why he couldn’t just make the arc 170 degrees instead of 180 to miss the fence, but he seemed kind of dim. So I figured I’d try it his way, and move them back to be more under the fence if I liked them otherwise.
I did NOT like the idea of doing some at 90 degrees and some at 180 degrees. Consider that the 90 degree ones, if on for the same time as 180 degree ones, will put down twice as much water.
Be sure to install a controller that lets you turn subsets of your sprinklers on and off. it is unlikely you will have enough water pressure to use them all at once. Mine will eventually be controlled remotely with a phone app.
According to the irrigation guy my well size is fine but we are going to increase the HP on the pump to either 1 HP or 1.5 HP. I’m nixing the sprinklers in the middle of the arena and will go around the perimeter instead. I realize I’m going to have to do a bit of manual labor to water the center of the arena but it will be nominal.
I will have a control panel to turn the sprinklers on and off. I’m interested in more information about the app that will allow you to control them remotely. TotheNines - Can you tell me what app you are using?
Re remote control. I don’t know…I did not install that part yet. But the manual knob I am using now also has the proper wiring for an eventual controller. I will see if I can get more info. It can be battery/solar powered. The pop-ups are Hunter ??? I think. Maybe their website has something.
ETA, looked it up.
https://www.hunterindustries.com/product-line/water-management-software
We have a 110’ by 220’ sand arena. We have 8 pop up sprinklers, 3 up the long sides, 1 on the short sides. They are attached to the back of the fence posts of the 2 board fencing that surrounds the arena (about 3 1/2 feet high). The pop ups are mounted just about flush with the top of the posts so you really don’t notice them when they are not active. One of our lesson dads is an engineer and designed this system for us. It waters the entire arena with no blank spots.
Alternate pony - Did you run PVC or metal pipe to the sprinkler heads? This sounds exactly like what I wanted to do in the first place. Do you know what kind of heads you have (plastic or metal)?
In the outdoor arenas at the barn where I board, the sprinkler heads pop up from the top of some fence posts, and it seems to work well in terms of getting good coverage and not spraying the fence itself too much.
Has anyone seen the irrigation system that is below the arena? They turn a series of dials and the ring irrigates from underneath! My friend just moved to a barn that has this system and I am dying to know more. Not that I will ever be able to afford one, but I am curious!
Sorry for the delay in responding. It’s all PVC pipe and the heads are plastic. The heads are made by Rain Bird.
Tully, my trainer has the in ground irrigation system. It will add $50-60,000 to the cost of the arena, but it works very well. Except the time it broke the night before a clinic… Even if I had the money, I would shy away because of my lack of skill with things like that. I assume they drain the system in NJ in the winter.
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