Considering an Arena? Planning Makes Perfect [Part 2]

Donna Quinn’s 60"x 90" indoor arena was constructed in 2009. Donna is especially happy with the translucent light panels installed high on both long walls, and the heavy kickboard made of 1" plywood. Photo by Donna Grovet.
Donna Quinn’s
60″x 90″ indoor arena
was constructed
in 2009. Donna is
especially happy with
the translucent light
panels installed high on
both long walls, and the
heavy kickboard made
of 1″ plywood.
Photo by Donna Grovet.

Utilities
“Think carefully before you decide if you want power, water or heat in your arena, and then check with your municipality or county before you start building,” McKay continues. “Some counties are quite lenient when you build shops or arenas, but many counties near large cities will have strict rules and requirements. Some municipalities will want to inspect your blueprints before you start building, and then they may ask for changes. If they insist you put in a sprinkler system, you’re going to need to know that before going further.”

McKay notes it is the owner’s responsibility to do a search for cables or gas before starting the building process. “You’ll be surprised how many times owners insist there’s nothing underground, and then we discover a buried line in the area,” he says. “I can tell you, no one wants to cut your gas line!”

Canadian Climate
Lastly, McKay reminds potential builders to deal with contractors who understand the Canadian climate. “Our arena roofs are designed for Alberta snow loads,” he says. “And the buildings are designed to handle the wind lift in our areas. You don’t want to have anything installed that can’t handle these sorts of things.”

Donna Quinn’s 60"x 90" indoor arena was constructed in 2009. Donna is especially happy with the translucent light panels installed high on both long walls, and the heavy kickboard made of 1" plywood. Photo by Ryan Smith
Donna Quinn’s
60″x 90″ indoor arena
was constructed
in 2009. Donna is
especially happy with
the translucent light
panels installed high on
both long walls, and the
heavy kickboard made
of 1″ plywood. Photo by Ryan Smith

Do Your Research
Donna Quinn of Millet, Alta., had a post frame riding arena installed on her property in 2009 after living on her acreage for fourteen years. “I breed a few mares each year, and wanted a small, personal riding arena that I could use to start the youngsters and prepare them for sale,” Quinn says. “Until then I’d been doing everything in my outdoor riding ring, but as I got older I found I just couldn’t tolerate the summer heat, and of course the snow and cold temperatures stopped me from doing much outside in the winter, too.”

“I looked at a lot of arenas and barns in Alberta before making any decisions,” Quinn continues. “Eventually I decided on a fairly small arena 60 by 90 feet in size. At one end of the arena we added a heated, three stall barn. I know my arena’s size might not suit everyone, but it works well for my young horses.”

Fringe Benefits
Quinn notes that building the arena not only gave her an indoor place to ride out of the sun and snow, but it also improved her farmyard’s micro-climate. “I’ve planted trees to control the wind,” she says. “But the arena was also a huge help for wind and snow control. At one time I had waist deep snow everywhere near the horse’s outdoor pens. Now the arena blocks much of that wind, and the snow banks are greatly reduced.”

Quinn is especially pleased with two of her barn features. “We installed translucent panels high on both long walls of the arena, and that provides a lot of natural light without the cost of electricity,” she says. “I’m also really happy with the solid kickboard we installed along the lower part of the walls. That kickboard prevents a horse from putting a foot through the arena wall, and I wouldn’t want to do without it.”

“It was a big chunk of money to have the arena built, but it was worth every penny,” Quinn concludes. “I love being able to get out of the rain, the wind, and the heat, and spend time with my horses.”

You can read the whole article in the August/September 2013 issue of Canadian Cowboy Country magazine. To subscribe, click here or call Kendra at 1-800-943-7336.