Arena Maintenance Essentials with John Deere

The footing that we compete and train our horses on plays a large role in their soundness and longevity. Every horse owner wants to keep their equine partner feeling their best, and maintaining your ring is a large piece of this equation. Not only is the footing you ride on at home paramount, but the footing you compete on as well. We caught up with Roy Coyle, the Technical Coordinator for many of the top equine events around the country, such as the Land Rover Kentucky Three Day Event, USEF Pony Finals, and the National Horse Show. Here are Roy’s tips for keeping your rings in top condition.

Make sure that you have the proper equipment for the size of your rings and the type of footing. The Kentucky Horse Park uses John Deere 5 Series Utility Tractors with both 8’ and 10’ multi-groomers attached.

Turf tires are the ideal choice for your John Deere tractor as they do not displace the footing as much when making turns in the ring.

Have help on hand when dragging. Remove any obstacles and open jumps that will require the tractor to make any sharp turns so that you get a clean drag through and are not turning on the takeoff or landing of any jumps.

Follow a “Zamboni” pattern when dragging – break the ring in half and drag short ways, gradually working from one end of the ring to the other. Start at the far end of the ring and work towards the gate.

If your ring has jumps, rake the takeoff and landings in between drags to help keep footing even and uniform.

Maintain moisture levels to keep surfaces consistent. This is especially important if you have synthetic footing.

Keeping footing properly looked after helps ensure that horses and riders can perform their best. If you have questions about what tractor you should be using for your ring, contact your local John Deere dealer today!