I have a new farm situated in a very open area, very few trees no hills in South Florida (think former cow pasture). We have 20 acres of open space and the dressage ring after a few dry weeks and one good wind storm blew away. I mean gone! All the sand we had was picked up and just my base left. Yes, we were watering. So now I have a base and no idea what to do on top of it. I had the guy out that built the sand ring, he said try grass. I had another guy say try pave sand and flood it twice a day. I had someone else say plant lots and lots of trees and put in a hedge then once you have established wind breaks try again. Someone else said I can mix in rubber mulch that is heavy and will not blow. But in the summer when it is raining everyday how am I riding on grass or rubber? The pave sand is really hard, and flooding it twice a day seems like a lot for just my few horses. The amount of trees and shrubs I would need to enclose the ring would cost as much as GGT! Plus then I am taking care of and paying for a ring and all that landscaping. There has to be a good answer for an all weather type ring that can withstand rain and wind in Florida at a reasonable cost. Or am I just crazy? Thanks!
Could you somehow “dress up” a perimeter fence that is solid, like plywood or something? Would be cheaper than bushes, but I will say, bushes for an arena perimeter is beautiful.
For a few horses, grass holds up just fine in FL year round. With the sandy soil, rain drains through quickly so it’s never muddy, and rarely slick. There are some areas with “gumbo” loam soil, that does NOT drain, but it’s generally confined to low areas that naturally want to collect water.
If you do a grass arena, use an area about double the size of a standard dressage arena, so you can vary where you put your dressage letters and corners. Riding every single day in the same path along the rail will cause sandy ruts where the grass is worn away. So long as you can move your riding area to give the grass a break, Florida turf makes a really good, consistent surface.
This may be true in north florida, but it is certainly not true in south florida! We get wayyyy too much rain in the summer. Like a rainstorm almost every day. OP would not be able to ride june-august. You would completely ruin your grass footing.
I lived in South Florida for years with a grass ring. I did not ride in the ring june through august.
OP, I would suggest doing sand with a solid fence or trees around it. There is some really fast growing stuff down there that will fill in and save your footing in no time. If you want an additive, I would go with felt, not rubber since rubber floats 
A few people I know literally dug up the natural sand, filtered out the rocks/coral, and called it an arena. These always seemed like the footing was too hard, but it certainly didn’t blow away.
Well…maybe in Ocala, grass works year round. In sub tropical southern Florida, not so much, in my experience. We grow terrible grass. The stuff on lawns is all sod, and heavily watered, sprayed and groomed. I’m in Loxahatchee (Palm Beach county), and it gets really windy here, but I’ve never heard of a sand arena blowing away! That 's awful! I would check with other stables in the area to see what their solution is.
Still scratching my head along with all of you. I am in Martin County just about 45 mins north of Wellington. We get more wind and less rain then to the south and I think this winter its just been really dry and really windy. I am still hoping that someone on here has an awesome idea! The next closest barn to me is using a heavy sand that is like what you use to set paver bricks in, but they flood the ring twice a day to help make a crust on top and its pretty hard, and he is still having to add sand after the dry winter winds. Anyone ever seen felt or rubber in high wind situation? Or alternatively anyone want to build me an indoor ring with AC? LOL
I am in the same situation. My sand ring also lost some sand, but fortunately I still have some sand left. I was thinking about mixing in textile into the sand. But I am a little scared that that will carried away as well. And that would be too expensive. I will try the thing for a year and decide then what to do…
Interesting predicament. Welcome to farm life there always seems to be some sort of maintenance issue. Things that seem/should be simple but turn out to need “special needs”.
Our ring is in a very exposed area of out farm. Subject to very high gusty winds at times. But it is never been blown/scraped clean. We use a heavier sand, limestone mixture.
Might want to look in to the install a “snow fence”. There is no reason the same principle wouldn’t apply to sand?
And or the added work of checking and planing for wind storms by watering heavily and sealing before it happens. There is equipment made for this purpose or a “sealer” can be homemade. There are a number of ways of going about it. Basically fabricate a strong frame that a chain can be attached to. Thick plywood sheet on the bottom and weight it with cinder blocks. This sort of rig does require a tractor with a 3 point hitch to attach it to so you can life the front off the ground a few inches so it doesn’t dig in when being dragged.
Or buy a lawn roller most can be filled with water or sand to add desired weight. Something like this. They are not very wide so it will take some time to seal a ring.
http://www.ruralking.com/brinly-18x48-poly-tow-roller.html
This is a nice homemade one fabricated out of plastic drainage pipe filled with cement.
http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=89196&stc=1&d=1238897122
Adding limestone if available will pack/seal tight. Your local quarry/supplier should be able to give some advise.
Even taking the time to do the above. Most likely you will still have to deal with attrition over time and have to add more footing periodically.
What about adding some clay to your sand to give it some more density? You will have to keep it watered and drug so that the clay doesn’t become rock hard, but it might be something to consider.
