Never, ever, attempt to create a riding arena without consulting professionals. On second thought, consult the pros, then have them come handle it. I failed to do this and am left with an area - I won't call it an arena - that is just ride-able, with care, and far from the all weather arena I'd hoped for.
I made the mistake of allowing someone experienced in clearing only to scrape out my spot and then dump what I was told would be adequate footing for riding. Let me tell you, manufactured sand doesn't come close to some nice crushed granite, or M10. But it would have been serviceable, had this person graded the area correctly, and dumped the appropriate amount. Five inches is far too much. I knew this, and requested less, but the man decided I didn't really know what I wanted and did what he was told would be more appropriate. He was wrong.
My next failing was in not rushing to put in fencing, or at least edging. I was too busy trying to figure out how to scrape away some of the overly deep footing, since the idiot I had dump it in the first place wouldn't come back and do so. While waiting to get this done, much of it sloughed to the left. Fine, but it didn't do so evenly, of course.
Why didn't I drag it and salvage what I could, you might ask? I tried. I bought a decent drag, and my husband bought a tractor for me. A garden tractor. It isn't heavy enough to pull the drag through five inches of sand.
To make this long story a bit shorter, what we have now is an area that used to be filled with sand - which at least had the benefit of providing my daughter with a fun place to play - and which is now a grassy and uneven mess. I say mess because it is not at all the lovely arena I imagined. Can I ride on it? Sure. Is it anything like what I'd hoped and planned for? No.
I'm not going to gripe and complain (well, I will, but not too much). I'll just make the best of it, filling in those areas that need it and being glad I at least have the space in which to ride. It's more than I'd expected, really. And the area that was once too rocky and dangerous to ride on is now at least serviceable.
Lessons learned? First, when you find a contractor, find out what experience he really has in doing the job you expect. Get references. Call them. Create and sign a contract that details exactly what is expected. If this is too much for the contractor, find another. If your arena builder looks at your horses and behaves as if they're the first he's ever seen, that is a big clue.
Second, don't cut corners. Do not attempt to do it cheaply vs. doing it correctly. You won't get what you want and will end up spending more money to correct mistakes.
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