Questions

The things people actually ask.

Including the one about cost, which the rest of this industry leaves off the page.

What does a riding arena cost?

A standard 20m by 40m is £38,000 to £42,000 plus VAT, and that figure is published on our pricing page rather than kept back for a sales visit.

What moves it most is the cut and fill: levelling the ground before anything is built on it. On a gentle fall that is five or six days; on a pronounced slope it is ten to twelve. That is why we survey on foot before quoting, and why two arenas of identical size on neighbouring farms can differ by thousands.

What areas do you cover?

Kent primarily, and routinely Surrey, Sussex and Essex. We have a page for each county covering the ground conditions and the planning context there, because those genuinely differ.

Further afield is possible for larger projects. Travel affects cost, so we would rather discuss it honestly than quote as though it does not.

Does a riding arena need planning permission?

In almost all cases yes. An arena involves engineering operations and usually a change in how the land is used, and neither is normally covered by permitted development for a private householder.

Most well sited applications on land already in equestrian use are approved. Lighting is the most common sticking point, and designated landscapes such as the Kent Downs or the South Downs apply a stricter test. Our planning page covers this in detail, including Biodiversity Net Gain.

Do you do complete installations?

Yes. Survey, levels, drainage design, excavation, sub-base, membrane, surface, fencing and reinstatement, as one contract with one company responsible for it.

We also take individual pieces of work: resurfacing, drainage repair, fencing on its own, or maintenance for an arena somebody else built.

What surfaces do you offer?

Silica sand, sand and fibre, wax coated fibre and rubber blends. Sand and fibre is our standard specification for a private arena and wax is what we would recommend to anyone riding hard through the winter.

We compare them honestly on our surfaces page, including where each one is the wrong choice. There is no best surface, only the one that suits what you ride and how much maintenance you will actually do.

Does it actually matter that you ride?

Yes, and more than we expected before we started working together. A surface is judged by feel, and feel is only legible through the body of a horse. A surface fifteen millimetres too deep measures inside tolerance and rides badly. An arena that averages correctly can still change underfoot in the two corners you use most, and a horse tells you that instantly.

Most arena builders are builders. That is not a criticism, it is genuinely difficult civil engineering and the good firms are very good at it. But it does leave the industry with a blind spot, because the people who build arenas mostly do not ride them.

In practice it means the specification is chosen from a conversation about what you ride, the rider's questions get asked during the build while they can still be answered cheaply, and every arena is ridden before we call it finished rather than walked over and measured.

How long does a build take?

Approximately four to six weeks on site, depending on ground conditions and on the cut and fill. The cut and fill is the longest part of the job: a gentle 500mm cut and fill is five or six days, while a full metre each way is ten to twelve, weather permitting.

Before any of that comes planning. Allow three to four months from first enquiry to a decision, then schedule the build around ground conditions. We do not dig clay sites in the middle of a wet winter if it can be avoided, because the result is worse and it costs more.

What do I actually get at the end?

A final report, and a care plan. The report is built from a three stage sign-off during the build: sub-base and drainage, base and drainage, then surface. At each stage we walk the arena with you, photograph and dimension what is there, and you approve it before the next layer covers it.

What you keep is a dimensioned drainage plan showing every run, connection and rodding point measured from fixed points, the stage photographs tied to those measurements, and the materials and depths of every layer. It exists so that in twelve years somebody can work on the arena without excavating it to find out how it was built.

The care plan is written for the surface you actually own: the harrow settings for your material and depth, the seasonal jobs, where to get matched material for a top up, and what a normal change looks like against one that means something is wrong underneath.

Why is drainage such a big part of what you talk about?

Because when an arena stops performing, the problem is not always on the surface. Beneath every successful arena is a drainage and base system designed around the site.

Drainage is invisible, it is a large share of the cost, and it is the single thing that decides whether you are still happy with the arena in ten years. It is also the easiest place for a contractor to save money on a quote without the customer ever knowing.

Can you maintain an arena you did not build?

Yes, and a good proportion of our maintenance work is exactly that. We will survey it first, because it is worth knowing whether you have a maintenance problem or a construction problem before paying for the wrong one.