Hoofers Riding Club constructs a new, larger outdoor arena
The following is a piece written by Andy Holsteen and is one of several published in Hoofers’ latest edition of Hoofprints. The publication features colorful spreads and photos documenting Hoofers’ countless journeys outdoors. To enjoy the issue in its entirety, click here.
By Andy Holsteen
Photo courtesy of Hoofer Riding Club
In order to ride a horse, one needs ample and adequate space. Before October, the Hoofer Riding Club’s outdoor arena was not up to par. Riding Club President Fran Theisen remembers when it became obvious they needed to build a new space.
“Last year summertime, we started to realize how bad our arena was getting. A lot of rocks from the base were breaking up and coming to the surface,” Theisen said. “It was hard on our horses’ feet, it was hard if someone fell – they could get a lot more hurt than if you have a nice sandy arena… So I put it on the vice president, Abby Douglas, to bring in someone to make a new arena.”
Douglas went through the process speaking with various contractors until they found one who could fulfill the Riding Club’s needs. Even though the club was on-the-ball in terms of planning, they still were unsure if they could get the arena finished in time for their first shows.
“We thought that it was going to be a shot in the dark – that it would be one in a million,” Douglas said. “But we were that one that was thinking we could make it possible.”
They managed to meet their goal. And now the arena is not only in a condition conducive to high-caliber riding, it’s also bigger, which allows the club to participate in a wider variety of events.
“We had to change it and make it safe, we also made it larger … We made [the arena] better my making it 27 meters by 74 versus 25 by 54,” Theisen said. “It fits a full- sized dressage arena in it now, which is nice. It means that we can have second-level tests, or first-level tests that have leg yields, half passes and things like that. So our shows can hopefully be bigger.”
In the end, the Riding Club was quite happy with how the project turned out. But beyond being a physical success, it showed how the Hoofers Riding members can rally together.
“We got the arena actually finished by the time we had the first couple shows, so it was a huge, huge process and really showed how dedicated people are to the club by the amount of work we put in,” Douglas said. “Right now we couldn’t be happier with the arena and how it turned out.”
