Horse Arena Construction

Horse Manège Installation - Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire

Sherriff were contracted to undertake a large-scale horse arena manège installation project for a private client in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire. The property consisted of an extensive, uneven field which was to be transformed into a high-quality horse arena.

Planning this Private Horse Arena Construction

Our team made their initial visit to the property to thoroughly assess the conditions of the field and then advise on the best approach for the construction of the horse arena. Following the site visit, the team were able to advise on the best solution. This included establishing the appropriate drainage system and surface materials to deliver the exceptional riding conditions for the client. It was also important for the team to understand what access was available for the heavy-duty machinery and if the surrounding areas needed to be included in the works. Following all the discussions with the client and the decisions on the approach had been concluded, the team were ready to start.

Stage 1 - Existing Footbridge Demolition & Site Preparation

The initial phase was to site and clearly mark out the area of works and strip off the topsoil and stockpile the removed material onsite. The levelling of the surplus topsoil that was around the intended works area was also carried out upon completion. The work was needed to help reduce potential flooding with the requirement of the team to dispose of any soil away from site. Once the levelling and clearance of these areas was finished, they were then cultivated and seeded with a DLF horse pasture mix to finish.

Stage 2 - Levelling & Drainage System

The next phase of this immense horse arena construction project consisted of the subsoil across the area being cut with our excavators. It was then graded using a Blec laser grader to ensure appropriate fall and gradient. Once the levels had been confirmed, a drainage system was installed which comprised of 480 linear meters of arena drainage installed using state-of-the-art laser guided trenching equipment. The drainage system used two types of perforated drainage pipes. The drainage system also included the installation a further perimeter drain at the top of the arena due to historical reports of accumulated water during the winter.

Stage 3 - Barrier Membrane Installation

To help combat any weed growth from the cultivated soil, a geotextile membrane was installed across the entire new horse arena. The addition of the membrane also creates a barrier to separate the soil from the aggregate required to construct the arena riding surface.

Stage 4 - Drainage Layer

The next phase was to add a main stone drainage layer made up from an incredible 350+ tonnes of 40mm recycled drainage stone at an average depth of 125mm. This layer would then enable surface water to drain freely through the layer and descend into the lateral drainage runs. It was at this stage that the arena’s perimeter fence was installed with kickboards and including a 12’ timber access gate to the manège.

Stage 5 - Second Barrier Membrane

Once the installation of the drainage stone layer had been finalised, a further Fibretex non-woven membrane was installed and all joints were overlapped and glued. This membrane was also secured to the perimeter kickboards with timber batons.

Stage 6 - Riding Surface

To construct the main riding surface for the horse manège consisted of two layers. The base layer was a 125mm depth of Redhill Fines Equi-Silica sand. This layer of sand was also laser graded using a tractor drawn Blec laser grader to ensure suitable levels were achieved. The main exposed manège surface was installed to a depth of 50mm with certified rubber chip/tyre rubber. This rubber chip surface was again graded with laser levelling machinery to ensure there was a continuous coverage across the entirety of the horse manège.

Stage 7 - Horse Arena Access Entrance

Once the menage construction had been completed, we created an aggregate access using 25mm screened “recycled road planes” to lead from the arena to the yard perimeter. The finish touch came with all the disturbed surrounding natural areas were cultivated and reseeded to grow back to the natural conditions.