This month I am thinking about arenas—and for more than one reason. It’s been a year since ours has been completed, although there’s always more to work on before it feels “really” finished. We still plan to work on landscaping, an indoor viewing area, and maybe lighting someday.  For now, I couldn’t be happier with it.  It is quite freeing, as it allows us to have the ability to ride no matter the weather—and we do just that, riding everyday! We just experienced one of our best winters ever partly because we always had access to indoor riding.

Perhaps you are also interested in an arena? If so, Horses for Clean Water has a class for you! Next month, we will be teaching a workshop in King County, Washington on how to build an indoor riding arena. The class will be on-site at Two Cedars Farm, a facility that’s done a lovely job of creating a covered dressage arena while balancing the needs of the natural resources. Join us at this event to hear about their construction process and the choices they made as they worked to minimize their impact on the environment. We will also do a farm tour to look at other horse farm management practices like mud management, manure composting, and pasture management.