Richard on partnering with Leisure Ride for his self build riding arena:
We first installed a manege 25 years ago, built it on “the cheap”, the base was 600 tons of waste woodcemair (an industrial roofing material made from cement and shredded wood) that was dumped onto grass and rolled level with a JCB. Our ground slopes slightly and to ensure the school is level, the base varies in thickness from 12″ by the entrance to 36″ in the far corner. We were told that as cement power was inclusive in the woodcemair, installing drains would fill and set solid so would fail to function. Thus no drainage system was installed.
The top, we first used, was soft wood chippings that eventually went to mulch after several years and was removed.Then we put hardwood chippings about 8″ thick and that lasted 15 years but we did have the occasional top up. The surface was not “secure” and became less so when wet.
We sought advice from other manege owners and the conclusion we arrived at was sand & fibre were the best and by reputation, Leisure Ride were the best supplier in this part of the UK.
Ross from Leisure Ride visited us 2 or 3 times to view our existing manege and suggested how best to undertake the conversion. Ross arranged for us to visit other Leisure Ride Surfaces so we had a good understanding of the processes and finished product. Leisure Ride Surfaces provided a comprehensive proposal with alternatives and samples and a deposit was placed. The work undertaken was a combination of Leisure Ride and myself.
