Design your dressage and riding arena with shed designer.
Design covered dressage, jumping and riding arenas online. Free quotes from ShedSafe accredited dealers using Australian BlueScope steel. FEI sized.
Why choose Horse Dressage Riding Arenas?
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What is a dressage or riding arena?
A dressage or riding arena is a clear-span steel-framed building sized to a regulation riding surface. It carries a column-free roof over a sand or fibre footing, gives you year-round riding without weather days lost, and integrates with stables, tack rooms and float storage on the same property plan. Most arenas in Australia are built as a roof-only structure (open sides, gable ends) or fully clad on the windward side, with a 100% Australian-made BlueScope steel frame and Colorbond® roof.
Arena templates cover the shell, with span, length and eave height all adjustable. Footing surface and base prep are quoted separately by a local arena specialist.
Arena dimensions and clear span
Arenas are sized by what you ride. The numbers are not negotiable if you want the arena to score for competition prep.
FEI dressage arena (20m x 60m). The international standard for dressage tests above Preliminary level (Fédération Equestre Internationale, FEI Rules for Dressage Events, 26th edition, 2024). Add 2m to 3m of clearance each side and at each end so a horse can spook into the perimeter without hitting it. That puts the building span at around 24m to 26m and the building length at 64m to 66m.
Small dressage arena (20m x 40m). The working size for Pony Club, training yards, and dressage to Preliminary level. Same width as the FEI arena, two-thirds the length. Shell length usually 44m to 46m.
Indoor showjumping (24m to 30m span). Jumping under cover needs a wider clear span and more height than dressage. Plan a minimum eave height of 4.5m and a ridge height of 5.5m to 6.5m so a 1.2m fence can clear the lights and the rider can sit a refusal without ducking.
Combined-use arena. Most private builds run dressage and jumping together. Default spec: 22m x 60m with a 4.5m eave, lit, with the long side oriented away from the prevailing wind.
Clear span matters because columns inside a riding surface are a hazard. The 3D designer flags any combination of span, length and wind region that needs an engineering review before quoting.
Footing, drainage and lighting
Three things to settle alongside the shell.
Footing. Most Australian arenas run a base of compacted road-base, a geotextile separator, and a top dressing of silica sand mixed with a fibre or rubber binder. Depth is typically 80 to 120mm of top surface over 100 to 150mm of base. Footing supplier guidance and ASTM-style equestrian surface references (ASTM F1292 indirectly informs international footing benchmarks) set the resilience and impact targets.
Drainage. Sub-surface drainage is the difference between an arena that rides for 20 years and one that turns to soup in the third winter. Plan slotted ag-pipe in the base layer falling to a stormwater connection sized for the rainfall in your region.
Lighting. Indoor riding lighting typically runs LED high bays at 250 to 400 lux on the working surface for training, 500 lux for night shows. Mount points are designed into the steel frame at quote stage, not retrofitted.
Before you get quotes
A riding arena is a long-life, single-purpose building. You want it engineered to your wind region, signed off by a ShedSafe accredited dealer, and built once.
100% Australian-made BlueScope steel. Structural framing and Colorbond® cladding. BlueScope's COLORBOND® steel cladding for sheds and garages carries a warranty of up to 15 years against corrosion to perforation, with the exact period set by location and application (BlueScope, Garages & Sheds Warranty). Check your build on BlueScope's online warranty estimator.
ShedSafe accredited dealers, no exceptions. Every dealer on ShedDesigner is ShedSafe accredited under the Australian Steel Institute programme, which independently assesses dealer design and engineering against the National Construction Code and AS/NZS 1170.2 wind loading.
One design, multiple quotes. Your arena design goes out to dealers in your region. Every quote prices the same shell to the same engineering, so the quotes you get back are directly comparable. Browse the full equine range for stables and float storage, or compare with our horse barns if a barn-style stabling shell is your preference.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the standard size of a dressage arena?
The international FEI dressage arena is 20 metres wide by 60 metres long. The smaller working arena, used for Pony Club, training and tests up to Preliminary level, is 20 metres by 40 metres. Source: Fédération Equestre Internationale, *FEI Rules for Dressage Events*, 26th edition, 2024.
How much does a covered dressage arena cost in Australia?
Most covered dressage arena shells in Australia sit between $80,000 and $250,000 in steel and slab/footing prep, depending on span, length, wind region, lighting and lining. A 22m x 44m Pony Club-sized build lands at the lower end. A 26m x 66m FEI-grade arena with internal lining and full lighting sits at the upper end. Footing surface (sand, fibre, drainage) is quoted separately with an arena specialist and typically adds $20,000 to $80,000 depending on the spec.
What roof height do I need for an indoor riding arena?
Plan a minimum eave height of 4.5m and a ridge height of 5.5m to 6.5m if you want to jump under cover. Dressage-only builds can sit a little lower (4m eave is workable) but most owners go to 4.5m anyway so they keep the option open. Mount lighting and overhead infrastructure into the steel design at quote stage.
What's the maximum clear span for a riding arena?
ShedDesigner's standard envelope covers spans up to 30 metres with engineered portal frames, which comfortably covers 20m and 24m dressage arenas plus the perimeter clearance. Larger spans for combined dressage-and-showjumping or full-size indoor jumping can be engineered with a custom review. The 3D designer flags any span and wind region combination that needs the review before quoting.
Do I need council approval for a covered riding arena?
Almost always, yes. Indoor arenas usually exceed exempt-development thresholds on floor area and height in every state. Your dealer's quote includes engineering documentation that supports your development application, and councils typically also want to see drainage and lighting plans alongside the shell.
What footing surface should I use in an indoor arena?
Most Australian arenas use a compacted road-base subgrade, a geotextile separator, and an 80 to 120mm top dressing of silica sand mixed with a fibre or rubber binder. Footing depth and ratio depend on what you ride. Dressage prefers a slightly firmer surface, jumping prefers more rebound. Spec the footing with an arena surface specialist before pouring.
Should the arena be open-sided, half-clad or fully clad?
It depends on your weather. In dry inland regions a roof-only arena (gable ends only) gives the best ventilation and rider visibility. In coastal and southern regions, cladding the prevailing weather side cuts driven rain and wind. Fully clad arenas are warmer in winter but need ridge ventilation to manage condensation onto the surface.
Can I add stables to the arena building?
Yes, as a lean-to or attached barn extension. Many private property owners run a centre arena with stables down one long side, or a separate stable block linked by a covered walkway. Spec it at design stage so the slab, drainage and ventilation are sized in one quote rather than tacked on later. See also our horse barns for the integrated barn-style alternative.
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