Indoor Riding Arenas-Risk or Reward?

Picture this scene. Bright sunshine, clear blue skies, shirt sleeve riding conditions, clippety clop, clippety clop, not a problem in the world for horse or rider. All of us have ridden on perfect weather days and there is no better scene for enjoying horses.

The problem is that in most parts of the world, there aren’t enough of those perfect weather days. Weather and a busy professional horseman are often in conflict with each other. Scorching sun, bitter cold, rain, snow, mud and fierce winds can severely limit the number of days to make money with horses with training, riding lessons or attracting customers to your boarding facility.

A day lost due to bad weather is lost money for the professional horseman. That window of time to generate income for your professional services is gone forever. Sure, you can “make it up" another day, but that means you lose a day off or you have to work long hours the following days to recover the income.

The solution for those horsemen who are always fighting the weather is to build an indoor riding arena for bad weather and early morning and after dark work. I can hear some readers thinking, yes but, GASP, I can’t afford it!

My answer to that comment is a question. Is it possible that you can’t afford not to have an indoor arena?

I am the first to admit that every personal financial situation is different, but for the sake of simplicity let’s consider the following example:

You have $5000 to put toward construction of an $80,000 indoor riding arena with not too many frills other than a roof, four walls and proper footing and lighting.

You borrow conventionally, or creatively, $75,000 at 6.5% interest to be repaid monthly over 15 years. The monthly payment is $653 per month.

Let’s ignore additional real estate tax, insurance, utilities and maintenance expenses because they will vary by location; please don’t forget to include these expenses in your personal calculations in making your investment decisions.

Now, calculate how much horse training and riding lesson income you lose annually due to bad weather and not being able to work before light or after dark. How does that loss on a monthly basis compare with all of the costs of having an indoor arena? You may be surprised with the results. Could the lost revenue due to weather pay for the indoor arena?

I talked with Pete Rohring, owner of Parco Building Systems over coffee last week. (click here for link) He’s been building barns and arenas for over 25 years and had some tips and considerations for building indoor arenas.

• Find out if your builder carries builders risk insurance coverage for the structure during the construction process. Wind damage to partially complete structures is the most common culprit for building damages. If the builder doesn’t offer it, look into getting your own coverage.
• Door openings large enough to drive a hay wagon through are important for ventilation and getting things that need to stay dry out of the weather in a hurry.
• A 36” wide service door is handy for people to move in and out without disturbing riders and horses by opening large doors. A four foot wide sliding door for walking horses in and out and saves large door opening time, too.
• A ¾” plywood liner built on a taper to protect riders legs and steel walls is a nice touch
• A roof vent on the ridge helps keep air moving and minimize condensation. Consider roof insulation for condensation control and noise reduction during heavy rainfall.
• Natural light provided through skylight roof panels is nice but consider the potential for leaks and shadows and sunspots on the arena footing from skylights. Eave light panels in sidewalls are efficient and lower maintenance.
• Overhangs (minimum 16”) create shadow lines on the exterior for architectural appeal and also keep snow and rain away from the building sidewalls.
• Don’t forget ice guards for northern climates.
• Good lighting is important. Talk to experts in lighting commercial buildings.
• Base Footing should be well-compacted and surface footing selected for dust control.

Put that pencil and calculator to work some evening and do indoor work on how you might be able to do more “indoor work.”