How to Set Up a Dressage Arena in Your Backyard
Practicing dressage movements in an arena can best prepare you for an upcoming dressage show. Dressage was originally used as military training for warhorses, testing their obedience, flexibility and maneuverability. In the early 1900s, it was incorporated into the Olympic Games. Today, there are nine levels of dressage in which a horse and rider team compete and progress through, that consist of the most basic walk and trot movements to canter pirouettes and the beautiful piaffe and passage. Setting up your own dressage arena can help hone your dressage skills to be best prepared for competition.
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Instructions
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Find a flat grassy area on your property, or use an already existing arena.
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A traditional tape measure will help you size the arena accurately. Measure the length and width of the arena. If you are measuring for a small dressage arena, measure 20-by-40 meters, or 65.61-by-131.2 feet. If you are measuring for a standard dressage arena, measure 20-by-60 meters, or 65.61-by-196.85 feet. Place ground poles perpendicular to each other, forming the corners of the arena.
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Place ground poles along all sides of the arena. Leave a gap where you will enter and exit the arena.
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Place labels with the letters A, F, B, M, C, H, E, and K around the arena. The letter "A" is located at one of the 20-meter sides, where you enter and exit the arena. The letter "C" is at the other end, traditionally where the judge sits in a show.
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Place the letters K, E, and H on the 40-meter side that is to the left of letter A. The letters F, B, and M are placed on the 40-meter side that is to the right of letter A. The letters on the long sides of the arena are measured 14 meters apart, with 6 meters of space between the letters nearest to a corner.
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Tips & Warnings
Save money by filling empty gallon-size milk or water bottles with sand and placing letter stickers directly on them. You can also write the letter in permanent marker on the bottle.
You can purchase a dressage arena with posts and rails or chains through an equine supply company.
References
Resources
- Read this Article in Spanish
- "The USDF Guide to Dressage"; Jennifer O. Bryant; 2006
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
