Bob and I decided it was time to jazz up the mail box and let everyone know we are Respite Farm.

Chase driving the tractor – his favorite activity.

Chase up on Malibu “Bu” ready to ride.

The snow just keeps coming on this “Springtime” day of March 25.

Dressage Arena at Respite Farm

What started in December of 2012 and continued in March of 2013 is now ready for some serious riding.

Derek Trimingham, owner of Tractor Works Arenas, picked up where Davis Construction left off. Derrick fixed the drainage issues around the perimeter of the arena by putting in swales to prevent rainwater from washing into the arena as well as to allow the rainwater to run off the site.

He then packed in six inches of gravel dust as the base and 1 1/2 inches of kyanite sand as the riding surface.

Laura has reported that Bella (her horse) has already shown progress in key dressage movements due to the condition of the arena. Laura hopes to teach other dressage riders and train other horses in the near future.

…Just ask Denise!

 

Bill Luestig and his wife (and my old friend) Ania and their beautiful daughter (and new friend) Tierra during a short but sweet visit Thursday night/Friday morning.

A selfie with Laura, Bill, Ania and Tierra.

…

Fox that was wounded, possibly by hunting dogs. We heard a ruckus one night where the fox was crying out and the barking of dogs was happening.

There are indications that he is living under one of our deck steps.

Goodness gracious – I looked out the window this morning and we had visiting buzzards setting on our fence line!

And Bella has really taken to her window. Every time we look down at the barn, Bella has her head stuck out the window taking in the view.

The dressage arena is progressing. As posted earlier, work has resumed on the site.

Davis Excavating and Repairs has completed the clearing and excavating on the site. They had a lot of dirt to move from cutting into a downslope and moving the dirt to the opposite end of the arena to build it up to a four-foot height before levelling and compacting the entire surface. They did a great job and come highly recommended if you need any excavation, driveways, etc. done. Call Kenny at 804-690-2536 or 804-347-3264.

They also helped by installing landscape fabric and spreading two dumptruck loads of mulch over the hillsides before the rain started – very thankful for that extra effort.

The last two dumptrucks of mulch were spread a few days later by Laura and me.

Additional landscape fabric was spread in the drainage ditches to cut down the amount of inevitable silt that will build up over time.

What remains to be done is a thorough drying of the pad with the assistance of a cooperative Mother Nature, and the laying of four to six inches of granite dust to cover the entire pad. That will give Laura a rideable surface to train Bella at her dressage movements. It will also allow Laura to train other horses as well.

After about a year, a final riding surface of specialized sand will be used to cover the entire arena.

Following are videos and some photos of the process.

First cutting of trees for dressage arena

Second cutting of trees for dressage arena

Burning of cut trees for dressage arena space

Excavation of the dressage arena space.

Views of the dressage arena: