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Riding arena planner: Levelling rollers for riding surfaces | Alfako

A riding arena leveller is used for loosening and levelling indoor and outdoor riding surfaces. Grounds maintenance with a riding arena leveller is important to maintain the health of the horses and ensure the longevity of the riding surface. However, not every riding arena leveller is suitable for every riding arena.

The riding arena leveller must always be adapted to the surface of the riding arena, the conditions in the riding hall or riding arena and the size of the riding area. Riding arena levellers are available in different types and sizes and for different surfaces and applications to ensure optimum riding arena preparation. 

What is a riding arena planner?

Riding arena levellers are devices for preparing, conditioning and maintaining riding surfaces in the riding hall and on the riding arena. Riding arena levellers are attached to a towing vehicle (e.g. tractor, quad bike, car, farm loader), allowing it to be pulled efficiently over the ground and ensuring even treatment.

Riding arena levellers are suitable for various types of ground such as sand, screenings, sand fleece, geotextile, fleece chippings and sawdust/flour. The choice of the right riding arena leveller must be made according to the specific requirements of the equestrian sport and the surface. It is important to choose an arena leveller that is suitable for the floor of the arena or riding arena.

In most cases, a riding arena leveller consists of a stable frame construction to which various elements such as tines, rollers and levelling plates are attached. The tines are used to loosen the ground and remove unevenness, while the rollers and levelling plates then smooth and compact the riding surface.

What types of riding arena levellers are there?

There are 5 different types of riding arena levellers: a riding arena leveller with rubber rollers, a manual riding arena leveller with trailer coupling, a riding arena leveller with water tank, a riding arena leveller with laser and a riding arena leveller with integrated hoof scraper.

Below we present the 5 types of riding arena planners. 

1. Riding arena leveller with rubber roller: A riding arena leveller with rubber roller is suitable for the daily maintenance of almost all surfaces, especially sand and sandy surfaces on fleece. The leveller loosens, mixes and smoothes the ground in a single pass. Two rows of spring tines loosen and mix the soil, while a sturdy levelling plate levels out any unevenness. A rubber roller ensures optimum reconsolidation of the soil. Riding arena levellers are also available with a grid roller or a steel roller instead of a rubber roller.
2. Manual riding arena planner with trailer coupling: The manual riding arena leveller with trailer coupling is suitable for quads, tractors, lawnmower tractors, yard loaders, wheel loaders, etc. and can be used for all types of sand, with or without aggregates. The riding arena leveller is equipped with harrow tines, a grid roller and a screw conveyor. 
3. Riding arena planner with water tank: The riding arena planner with water tank is an irrigation system for riding centres that combines soil cultivation and irrigation. With the riding arena planner with irrigation, riding arenas and riding arenas are planned and irrigated simultaneously in a single operation. A PTO pump directs the water into the ground through rows of nozzles to minimise dust on the ground.
4. Riding arena planner with laser: The riding arena leveller with laser is equipped with a laser-controlled levelling blade that is automatically adjusted to the correct height using a laser control system. Automatic height adjustment of the riding arena leveller enables precise adjustment of the levelling blade to the surface of the riding arena to compensate for unevenness and changes in the ground.
5. Riding arena planner with hoof scraper: A riding arena leveller with integrated hoof scraper ensures that accumulated sand in the centre or at the edge of the riding arena is transported back onto the hoof circle. An integrated hoof scraper saves riders from having to manually straighten the shoeing.

Where are riding arena planners used?

Riding arena levellers are used in indoor and outdoor riding arenas, in the lunging circle or in horse walkers. Different types of riding arena levellers are used depending on the nature of the ground and the riding discipline. Riding arena levellers are not only used for private use in the stables.

Riding arena levellers are also used for professional use at tournaments to create optimum tournament conditions for riding surfaces of the highest quality. In general, riding arena levellers are used wherever riders work with their horses on a daily basis and where there is a special riding surface.

For which soils are riding arena planners suitable?

Riding arena levellers are suitable for sand footing, screened footing, sand-fleece footing, geotextile footing, fleece-chopped footing, sawdust footing and sawdust footing. It is important to choose the right riding arena leveller for your specific surface type, as different equestrian sports require different surface conditions.

It is advisable to only purchase the riding arena leveller that is suitable for the floor of your riding arena or riding arena. Using the wrong riding arena leveller will lead to undesirable results and damage the riding surface in the long term. Before buying, find out which riding surface you use in your stable and which riding arena leveller is best suited to it.

Why should you use a riding arena planner?

A riding arena leveller should be used to pull accumulated material in the hoof area into the centre of the arena or arena and thus level the entire surface. With a riding arena leveller, injuries to horses due to uneven ground are prevented and the ground is regularly maintained.

The riding arena leveller is used to level out holes and loosen trampled ground. A riding arena leveller saves time and is more accurate, as it distributes the surface evenly across the arena and at the same time loosens and levels the ground. The use of a riding arena leveller is crucial for creating an optimum riding surface, minimising tripping hazards and increasing the safety of rider and horse. 

What size is a riding arena planner?

A riding arena leveller has a width of 1.10 metres to 3.00 metres and a depth of 1.20 metres to 1.30 metres. The working width you choose for the riding arena leveller depends on the respective area of the riding surface and the frequency of use, which is to be loosened and levelled.

If you often have to make tight turns on the riding arena, such as between obstacles in the show jumping arena, a narrow riding arena planner is the better choice. If you mainly ride straight routes on the riding surface with the planner, a wide riding arena planner is recommended to save time.

What should you consider when buying a riding arena planner?

When buying a riding arena leveller, you should bear in mind that not every towing vehicle can be hitched in front of every leveller. Simple models can easily be towed by a quad bike, but larger devices require a powerful towing vehicle with a corresponding dead weight or additional front weight.

Also bear in mind that riding arena levellers cost between 1500 and 6000 euros, although there are also more expensive models. The exact cost of the riding arena leveller depends on the working width, the equipment (e.g. with tines, a levelling blade, a rubber roller, etc.) and the type of leveller. Although a riding arena leveller is relatively expensive to buy, it saves riders a lot of stress, effort and time in the long term. 

How to use the riding arena planner?

Riding arena levellers are used by hanging either a car, a tractor, a quad bike, a wheel loader or a small tractor in front of the riding arena leveller and pulling it over the riding surface. Make sure that your riding arena leveller is optimally matched to the riding surface and the conditions.

Only the top layer of the riding surface should be loosened to ensure a soft footing but a hard surface. When in use, the riding arena leveller is pulled in a spiral and offset in a circle from the hoof beat inwards so that the riding surface is evenly levelled. To achieve optimum results, do not drive the riding arena leveller over the ground faster than 10 km/h and set the leveller so that it is about 3 centimetres deep in the ground.

Riding arena planner from Alfako

We offer 4 different versions of Alfako riding arena planners in our online shop: the Premium riding arena planner, the Prestige riding arena planner, the sand riding arena planner and the fleece chippings riding arena planner. 

Premium riding arena planner

The "Premium" riding arena leveller is suitable for surfaces made of sand or fleece chippings and can be used both indoors and outdoors. The leveller has two rows of springs that penetrate the ground and loosen it up. The crumbler roller then ensures that the soil is aerated and the net roller finally smoothes the soil material. The integrated levelling roller offers the option of varying the depth of the springs. The "Premium" riding arena leveller has a working width of 2.05 metres and a depth of 1.55 metres.

Riding arena planner Prestige

The "Prestige" riding arena leveller was manufactured for riding surfaces made of chopped fleece and is suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Similar to the "Premium" riding arena leveller, the springs loosen the ground and the crumbler roller aerates the ground. Finally, the rubber roller levels and hardens the ground. The working width of the "Prestige" riding arena leveller is 2.10 metres and the depth is 1.25 metres.

Sand riding arena planner

The "Sand" riding arena leveller is designed for surfaces made of sand, clay and sawdust and can be used in the riding arena as well as in the riding arena. The sand is smoothed and hardened with this riding arena leveller using a levelling blade and tines.

The working width of the "Sand" riding arena leveller is 2.35 metres and has a depth of 1.20 metres.

Riding arena planner fleece chaff

The riding arena leveller "fleece chaff" is ideal for surfaces with fleece chaff and can be used indoors and outdoors. The riding arena leveller uses the springs to loosen the soil and aerate it with the trailing roller. Finally, the levelling blade levels and consolidates the ground. The width of the "Vlieshäcksel" riding arena leveller is 2.35 metres and the depth is 1.20 metres. 

If you have any questions about our products or our various riding arena planners, simply fill out our contact form with your enquiry and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Alternatively, give us a call or send us an e-mail. We will be happy to help you!