***Yes, I’m still doing my annual Black Friday sales list! Have no fear, it’ll be here tomorrow. If you just can’t possibly wait that long to get started, Riding Warehouse’s sale starts today. Otherwise – check back here tomorrow morning for my usual giant list… it’s already over 50 sales!***
As a former lifelong h/j rider, I’ve spent a lot of time in arenas. Don’t get me wrong, arenas are very important. Having access to a flat open space with good, even footing is a must-have. But give me the choice between riding in a nice arena and a nice field, and I’ll pick the field 99% of the time.
For people who are thinking “is she really about to write a whole post about a field?”. Yes. The answer is yes. Why? Because it’s difficult to find good natural footing in this particular slice of Texas. Really difficult.
See, on one side of town there’s black gumbo soil… it’s a dense, dark clay that, when wet, will suck the shoes right off of a horse. When dry, it’s a bit like trotting on pottery. It shrinks and cracks and can closely resemble concrete in the summer (just ask Hillary). It grows some really gorgeous grass, but it’s not so great if you want to ride on it a lot. On the other side of town the top layer gets rocky and the grass becomes sparse, which is equally bad, for obvious reasons.
There are a few areas more north and east of town where the soil gets a lot better – little oases of sandy loam. Unfortunately most of those areas are about an hour’s drive from me. Therefore you have to understand how much I geeked the hell out when I realized that the hay field at the barn is a little mini-oasis in the middle of black gumbo territory.
First of all – it’s a huge space. Giant. Like it takes 10 minutes to trot a lap. It’s also sloped, which is probably part of why it dries so quickly after rain. The slope varies in different parts – most is just a gentle slope, but then there’s one decent hill out in the back that’s perfect for hill work. There’s enough flat-ish space to be able to set up a jump course or do flatwork. And because it’s got a lot of sand in the soil, it doesn’t get muddy when it’s wet or hard when it’s dry. It’s the weirdest and most miraculous thing, and probably some of the best footing I’ve seen anywhere in Texas. That’s why I have dubbed it The Field (formal title), and that’s why it has become hallowed ground for me.
As an eventer, this chunk of space is incredibly valuable. I can do just about all of my riding out here, if I want to. I have a TON of room for trot sets and gallops, plus varied terrain to help us practice our balance and make us stronger. The barn owner has no problem with me putting jumps out there, as long as I move them when it’s time to cut hay. My beloved coop is already out there, but I’m going to drag a few stadium fences out as well. It would be awesome if I could jump in the field all the time… there’s so much space to build whatever course you want, and there are so many options for using terrain within the exercises. It’s an eventer’s dream space.
I’ll save the arena for days when it’s a little too wet to ride in the field (the arena can withstand fairly monsoon-like rains)… I don’t want to put so much as a divot into any square inch of that space. It’s perfection, and I want to keep it that way.
breedrideevent.com 
I’ll almost always pick a nice field over a nice arena too. Something about those wide open spaces! Sounds like you found a keeper in The Field 🙂
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I’m less grumpy out in the open, and Henry seems to agree.
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Man that is PERFECT! I ride out in a field out of necessity, but I would kill for a big space that flat – most of our property is sloped very steeply, so it makes flatwork and coursework tough! Our soil is also mostly clay, which is… eh.. okay but not great. You really hit the jackpot with this place.
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Fields are so great.
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We had a fairly decent field at Isabel’s barn, tho it was not nearly as flat. But for some reason basically all the horses thought there were goblins in it – things would start out well enough but most rides would slowly devolve into rushy jigging bolting-toward-home catastrophe. Isabel eventually got over it but there were definitely plenty of bad associations.
Charlie’s has a very nice area for riding outside the ring but it’s a much smaller scale. Footing is basically perfect tho and it’s such a nice escape from the ring.
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We almost galloped right over a bunny the other day. Henry was undeterred… he tends to only be scared of stationary things… like the pile of tires sitting at the entrance to the field that NEVER FREAKING MOVES YET WE SNORT AT IT EVERY DAY.
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I LOVED the field at the old kbf. I know riding outside of an arena is hard for some people, but I love it. This field you describe looks perfect.
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YES that field was so awesome
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No idea what ground like that was doing in the middle of the Hill Country ….
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There are random spots here and there… just increasingly hard to find.
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I am green with envy. I really miss when I boarded at a barn with big, open fields. My barn is sandwiched between two subdivisions. No fields to be found. 😦
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im REALLY jealous of that field.
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I spent the first 22 years of my life absolutely PETRIFIED of riding outside the ring, and I’ve only recently started to appreciate a nice open field. We have one right near the barn…..but the golfers get mad when we use their green. It’s not my fault they have great footing and nice varied terrain!!
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ha!
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A big open field with good footing and varied terrain is as close to eventer porn as you can get I’d say.
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It really is. Borderline obscene.
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I’m with ya. Outside of the arena riding is the best. Your field looks amazingly wonderful
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Definitely awful Black clay…
On the field worship. I get it. I love that we have a large open space to ride and hack out it 🙂
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thanks for the nudge for RW sale!! and glad you are settling in nicely with THE Field. Enjoy!
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I already placed an order. Predictable.
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I love riding out of the arena! We have 2 polo fields, 75+ acres of pastures, trails,and a track. Plus, VA has pretty good soil. Needless to say, I spend almost ALL of my time out of the arena!! I also think it’s so good for their minds!
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That is one hot commodity there. Most fields here are harrowed and thereby wildly treacherous to ride in unless you just don’t care.
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Those east coasters don’t know how lucky they are!
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yes we do! I loved Texas but do love the terrain up here better (BUT not the weather)! We have fields to choose from (Depending on where your horse is boarded) But the last three barns i have been at all have HUGE fields to use. (My newest barn i just moved to you would love Amanda cause there are SERIOUS hills in Remus turnout field. As in I GET winded bringing him up it LOL) and of course it is not too shabby that we are 10 min from Fair Hill. 🙂
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I am drooling. It looks awesome.
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It does not suck.
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No horse girl can say no to a good looking field. 😉
I’m both looking forward to and fearing your black Friday sale list. My wallet can’t take this kind of abuse for long!
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Long ago when I had horses with brains, I loved galloping out in the open! Now? Nope. But I’m still jealous of your field. How will you ever go back to your old barn?
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