The latest project: arena lights!

[DJR]

Ever since I had my outdoor sand ring put in, which was about 4 years ago, I've wanted arena lights. But they are a costly item, so I kept putting it off ... until this year. I finally bit the bullet and made arrangements to have them installed.

I researched the heck out of it first, but still wondered if my light selection was going to work out. I tried online simulators, read about lumens and color scales and different types of lights, and ended up talking to a couple of salespeople to help me decide.

Here's the schematic I used for planning purposes:

ArenaLights_schematic.jpg (18.29 KiB) Viewed 6490 times

Here's the arrangement I ended up with ... four posts (the one at the front left is just outside of the photo) in total:

Arena lights in the daytime.

2016Sep17 ArenaLightsDaytime.jpg (72.57 KiB) Viewed 6490 times

My ring is 200' x 100' and I decided to have two LED flood lights installed per pole. The flood lights are mounted on a 4' long 4x4 which is lag-bolted to the top of the 8x8 post. The top of each post is approximately 17' from the ground. Each flood light is 80w and 8,000 lumens. I really thought I'd need a higher-wattage LED flood light with all the research I did, and was worrying that I had overestimated how much light an 80w LED light would give off. But, I need not have worried.

Here is how they look at nighttime. This picture was actually taken when it was still dusk so the sky wasn't black yet.

Arena lights at nighttime.

2016Sep17 ArenaLights.jpg (75.49 KiB) Viewed 6490 times

The picture makes it look like there are really bright spots and really dark spots, but from the arena it is very nice to ride in. There are some faint shadows here and there, and some dimmer areas, but it's all more than adequate for flat work and even for some low grid/cavaletti work.

See the next post for pictures when it's darker out (I can only attach 3 photos per post) ...

[DJR]

I couldn't wait to ride after dark, so today (the day after installation was completed!) I saddled up Jet and gave it a try.

Jet is a very spooky/looky horse. I was very interested to see how he'd react to the arena lights after dark, especially since we have to walk through a hedgerow gate to get to the arena. The light switch is on the other side of the hedgerow gate. He was fine with it, just a bit more looky than usual but nothing much to worry about.

Once the lights were on (and it's very nice that LED lights are instant-on lights), he was FINE with it. Even the dimmer parts of the arena were a non-issue for him.

Here he is just after I got on. It was a very dark night out tonight with the moon behind clouds, so it was interesting to see how the lighting looked under those conditions. It was super!! You can see in this picture how even the lighting is once you're in the arena and on horseback. Ideally I'd have liked the poles to be closer to 25' off the ground to reduce glare, but the glare wasn't an issue even from the back of my 17.1h steed. Plus, it was hard enough to install the lights using ladders, and if the poles were taller I'd have had to rob another bank to pay for a cherry-picker to install the lights - LOL! I'm very, very pleased with the end result even with the lights mounted at just 17' from the ground.

2016Sep18 Jet_NightRiding1.jpg (67.91 KiB) Viewed 6487 times

My handsome boy. We've been working on flying changes which he finds very difficult, but tonight I got a clean one both ways. And, about three weeks ago we introduced half steps and Mr. Smarty-Pants was really catching on to them tonight. Love him!

2016Sep18 Jet_NightRiding3.jpg (73.59 KiB) Viewed 6487 times

Anyway, that's Project Arena Lights in a nutshell. I wish I'd sprung for lighting years ago because I'm not longer held hostage by the earlier sunsets that come so soon in the fall. I'm SO happy with them ... I see lots more night riding in my future!

[Flight]

That looks really good

[Quelah]

Nice job! Congratulations on all counts

[piedmontfields]

That looks awesome! You will really enjoy it I"m sure.

I am completely spoiled in that it has been many years since I boarded at a placed without lights. Now I have lights and a covered---I couldn't go back! It was pouring rain here yesterday, but we still had a good ride.

[DJR]

I *wish* that I could manage to put up a covered arena. It's for sure on the wish list. But the cost is prohibitive to me. I could rationalize the outdoor arena light expense because it saves me boarding costs for up to 3-4 mo each year (i.e., I can keep my horses at home for 3-4 mo longer each year both before the worst snow months hit and in the springtime). In that way, the arena lights will pay for themselves within a year or maybe two. But the indoor arena cost would be a whole different story. Someday ... maybe ...

[StraightForward]

Looks great! Much better than the single halogen shop light that's strapped to the telephone pole that's conveniently 3' in from the longside of our arena. Yes, I think next fall I might have to bite the bullet and change barns...

[Chisamba]

Congratulations. It looks like a very nice lighted outdoor.