I live near the top of a mountain, and the best location for my ring was on the side of a hill, with a wall of ledge 60 feet back. The ring was of course more money to construct than I planned due to the solid clay base and the amount of water run off from the mountain. So, by the time I got to the top layer I was about out of money and could only afford winter sand not angular sand as USDF recommends.

Due to the initial depth of six inches my horse immediately went lame. So I added some Calcium chloride to firm up the sand, and then knew I would have to add something for suspension because the footing was quite dead, and as a amateur adult dressage rider I needed some footing with rebound. Not having the money to rip out the top layer, I looked at what I could add.

I called Heidi and Mark at Premier Equestrian and found them both knowledgeable and very pleasant to deal with. I had them ship me a sample of their rubber and was very impressed. Another dressage enthusiast in my town had gone with the rubber with the filaments still in it. On seeing her ring with all the filaments raised to the surface, and the quality of Premier's footing I knew which one to pick.

I ordered a truck load from Heidi and initially spread 16,000 lbs in my 60' x 140' outdoor area. Spreading was actually a breeze, I had the large bags dumped into a dump truck, and the truck just drove around the ring, I had to do very little by hand. The difference was amazing. My horses immediately softened in the backs, and only now need shoes for road work.

The ring has now wintered over twice, and in Vermont it is a hard winter. This winter I was able to ride in my ring until February when we got 3' of snow! The rubber has improved the drainage, helps hold the heat so the ring thawed quickly, and there is no odor. The ring also looks fantastic.

I could have spent thousands of dollars trying to change the sand in my ring, to still only have a sand ring. But for the same cost I added Premier's rubber, which is filament free and very uniform in size, and my footing is terrific. And, two years later, the rubber has maintained its texture, and the only maintenance my ring needs is to fix an occasional drop in the footing caused by water running underneath. Even this is easy, I scrape the rubber aside, add more sand, and cover it back over with the rubber and I am in the saddle again. I highly recommend Premier Equestrian and their products. This was the first ring I ever built, and I feel that their product puts quality footing in a very affordable place.  

Thank you,
Peggy Halpin


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