Wehle Farms

The Personal Indoor Riding Arena Choice

When Carrie Wehle wanted to increase her expertise in special events, the equestrian sport that she has competed in for the past decade, she knew she needed the perfect riding arena. "I simply got tired of going to someone else's steel or wood riding arena and spending the day riding in a 'not large enough, poorly lit environment,'" says Carrie.

Carrie and her husband Justin Andre, began to research riding arenas that would meet their specific individual requirements. The requirements on Carrie's checklist were specific to the riding experience; plenty of natural light, a healthy airy environment, lots of room, and a calm environment for the horse and rider. With Justin's background as a Project Manager for a major construction company, his building requirements were more technical; a quality engineered structure, safety, little or no maintenance required, fast delivery and efficient install timelines. The riding arena that met both of their expectations was a steel framed fabric covered building.

"The fabric riding arena keeps my footing perfect and the natural environment of the fabric building is better for the horse's mind.  The bond and trust between the rider and horse is so important in this sport." Carrie Wehle

"The fabric arena keeps my footing perfect and the natural environment of the building is better for the horse's mind. The bond and trust between the rider and horse is so important in this sport." Their new fabric covered indoor riding arena is 100' wide x 200' long and the installation of the twenty thousand square foot building was complete in just two weeks. "Running and jumping couldn't be better", Carrie is quick to share. "Eventing is extremely time consuming. If you want to keep a horse healthy to compete, the horse has to keep fit and injury-free."

Eventing is a three-day Olympic sport which measures the rider and horse's performance within a cross country course, a stadium jumping course, and a dressage test. In a sport where the horse and equestrian rider compete over three days, injury is always a probability. "There is no way you can plan for everything. Aside from injury, a horse can get sick, become moody, cold weather can freeze the footing and make exercising risky, I needed a building big enough to minimize the risks I can control," states Carrie.

During the research stage, Justin's concern was regarding the strength of fabric. "I deal with steel, mortar and wood everyday on multi-million dollar projects, I wasn't too sure about a tension fabric building, but walking into a fabric covered building and experiencing the environment, and seeing how it was constructed really intrigued me. I personally have seen large wooden structures which have collapsed because of wood rot, so a wooden structure was not in the running simply from a maintenance point of view, and a steel building is too much like walking into a giant refrigerator," says Justin. After researching fabric buildings, Justin was certain that fabric buildings were the ideal choice for Wehle Farms. "Every time there is a huge wind storm with winds exceeding 70 mph, more neighbors become convinced of the building's strength. The tension fabric building has no problem handling the wind and snow loads," adds Justin.

Since the arena's construction, Wehle Farms has attracted a number of borders and interested riders. With their new fabric covered building, Carrie and Justin are successfully showing their customers the light!

The ideal indoor riding arena for Wehle Farms is a
100' W x 200' L Fabric Building.

The indoor riding arena requirements on Carrie's

checklist were plenty of natural light,

a healthy airy environment,

lots of room and a calm environment

for the horse and rider.

"Every time there is a huge wind storm

with winds exceeding 70 mph, more neighbors become convinced of the building's strength. The building has no problem handling wind and snow loads," says Justin.
 

"The Fabric Covered riding arena keeps my footing
perfect and the natural environment of the
building is better for the horse's mind."

  Ward Yaternick Fabric Buildings

Riding Year-Round with Fabric Buildings

With temperatures dipping below -25ºC (-13ºF) and rising as high as 35ºC (95ºF), the riding season in Ottawa can often be cut short. Not so for Ward Yaternick who rides year-round in his fabric covered building and uses another fabric building for his horse barn. Yaternick, who has been a horse enthusiast for over nine years, built an indoor riding arena and horse barn on his property in Ottawa, Ontario. "This huge 17,000 square foot tension fabric building went up in only a week. It was fantastic!"

Yaternick is impressed with the advantages of fabric buildings, which include sound dampening and durability. "The fabric material is really nice particularly when its raining or hailing because it doesn't convey the sound as much as steel or wooden buildings. If your are in the fabric building, the equestrian rider can still hear what's going on." Another feature that Yaternick enjoys is the natural lighting. "The fabric building is also very good because it is bright and sunny most of the day. So from the crack of dawn until late at night, it is bright and we hardly ever have to turn the lights on."

"It's a huge indoor riding arena and it's perfect for anyone who needs to exercise their horse and have a good open run,"

- Ward Yaternick

Reduced temperature fluctuations have contributed to better riding conditions inside the fabric building. "What I don't like about steel is that its damp, cold and dark all the time. I wanted it a little bit warmer. Even in the very cold, the sunlight comes through the fabric and warms the sand. Even when its -15ºC (5ºF) in January, I can still be riding in just a polar fleece. Its actually a warmer riding experience than a wood or steel building. The material allows condensation to drop onto the sand in the mornings, which dampens it nicely and keeps the dust down," explains Yaternick.

"The width is very nice because we can set up a full hunter course or up to fifteen jumps in this arena. It's excellent for equestrian, dressage training and conditioning someone for a show. Its a huge indoor riding arena and its perfect for anyone who needs to exercise their horse and have a good open run," says Yaternick.

Yaternick has noticed that his fabric covered building's immense size has attracted a lot of attention. "The most striking thing people notice when they first walk into this building is its size. As a choice for an indoor riding building, fabric buildings make a lot more sense."

Janet & Sid Erickson's Riding Arena

A Dream Come True

Along Interstate 15 in the Helena valley, Montana, reside Sid and Janet Erickson.  The Erickson's dream of the day they can retire and enjoy their passion for horses full time.  Janet has been a schoolteacher for more than 25 years and her husband Sid is a veterinarian, chiropractor and acupuncturist that travels all over the country.  "I've taught Health Enhancement for 25 years; I still love kids but my passion is horses," laughs Janet.

In the fall of 2003, the Erickson's made one more step to fulfill their dream with the purchase of a 24,000 square foot fabric covered indoor riding arena.  For more than a year, the Erickson's researched and visited numerous types of indoor riding arenas prior to making their purchase.  "What impressed us about the fabric covered building we viewed was the light, the natural environment," says Janet.  "We toured numerous fabric covered building customer locations.  The response we heard about the satisfaction on their tension fabric building purchase and the manner in which Bill and Michele worked with them was consistently positive.  Sid also liked the idea that we can add on to or relocate the fabric building in the future if we need to," says Janet.

"I've had several people mention to me

that whenever I'm talking about my indoor riding arena,

I've got a big smile on my face.

They know my comments are coming from the heart. 

We couldn't be happier!"
Janet Erickson

After their year of research and planning, the Erickson's placed the order for a 120 foot wide x 200 foot long fabric covered arena and began construction.  "When we finally decided on the type of indoor arena we wanted, I couldn't wait for it to be constructed."  Much to Janet's wishes the speed at which the fabric covered arena was constructed was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.  The fabric covered building install crew arrived on site on Tuesday and by the following Saturday, the Erickson's were doing a final building inspection.  "When the install crew arrived, they worked around the clock," says Janet.  "I remember one night I went outside to check the progress and was so overwhelmed with the size of the tension fabric building, the way the lights lit up the framework, it looked like a coliseum.  In tears, I phoned my husband who was out of state working, crying 'It's beautiful; I never imagined it would be so big.' It was the greatest gift my husband could have ever given me," says Janet.

The response from the Erickson's horses has been equally enthusiastic.  "The footing remains perfect 100% of the time.  Our horses love the arena, they feel like they're running outside," says Janet.  "When I go to other arenas to compete, the buildings are usually dark and gloomy and have a low ceiling and the horses tend to be scared and rigid.  When I come home to my fabric covered arena, I feel like I'm on a cloud riding in this light, happy arena and my horses feel like they are free.  I put on my music and am able to ride up to six horses a night.  The acoustics are awesome, all I have for a stereo system is a little boom box, but it sounds like I have a huge PA system."

"I pinch myself daily; it's almost too good to be true.  I often lose track of time and find myself riding into the early morning hours.  The arena is my sanctuary away from work," says Janet.  "I recommend a fabric covered building to everyone who stops in to look at the arena.  I've had several people mention to me that whenever I'm talking about my arena, I've got a big smile on my face.  They know my comments are coming from the heart.  We couldn't be happier," says Janet.

Janet & Sid Erickson's fabric covered riding arena in Helena, Montana 120' x 200' Fabric building.

The vast amount of light, the natural

environment, and the ability to ride anytime impressed the Ericksons.

The Ericksons also use their fabric covered building for hosting community events.

The fabric covered riding arena at dusk
"Dreams do come true."