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 20m by 40m outdoor arena on reasonable ground, including drainage, sub-base, a sand and fibre surface and post and rail fencing, sits in a published band on our pricing page. A 20m by 60m is roughly half as much again.

Ground conditions move that figure more than anything else does. Clay, a slope, a high water table or poor access can each add several thousand pounds, and we itemise those rather than hiding them in a total. Nobody else in this trade publishes a figure at all, which is precisely why we do.

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?

A straightforward 20m by 40m on workable ground is usually two to three weeks on site once we start. Drainage complications, cut and fill on a slope or restricted access extend that.

The longer part is usually 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 fails, it is almost never the surface that failed. It is that water was never given anywhere to go.

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.