One Arena, Multiple Disciplines

As many of us head into an indoor arena to ride during the winter months, it’s a good time to think about how to manage riding in a smaller space with other riders. And for those of us at a boarding facility, that often means mixing it up with other disciplines.

The warm weather offers outdoor rings, trails, and fields to spread out and do our own thing, but when the temperatures fall and the ground freezes and ices, it means having to compromise. Dressage, hunter/jumper, western pleasure, barrel racers, you name it, chances are you can find them cohabitating at many Canadian boarding barns.

So how do you mix and mingle without conflict? One word: rules. The barn owner and/or manager needs to set out rules for arena usage and enforce them to keep the peace.

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Ron McKay and Jean Milligan.

Jean Milligan is one such horsewoman. Milligan has a lifetime of equine industry experience including time spent working with racehorses and Quarter Horses. After managing Camelot Stables in Richmond Hill from 2008 to 2019 with her life partner Ron McKay, they launched their own equestrian business Kaygan Equine in Whitchurch-Stouffville at the end of 2019.

“One of the biggest challenges to a mixed discipline barn – or any barn – is having someone with a different mindset or approach to horsemanship than the rest of the barn,” says Milligan, who coaches multiple disciplines. She is currently training her four-year-old Quarter Horses, We Talked About This (barn name Fritter) and Solano’s Sunrise (Sweety), with the goal to show all-round western performance events. “We have been very careful here to build a community of very like-minded horse people so our dressage riders will use obstacles just as much as our western riders! As far as jumps go, we always ask that people put them away when they finish in the arena or in the sand ring.”

The Kaygan property has extensive outdoor riding space, but even that has its challenges. Milligan and McKay measure and set up a 20x60m dressage ring in their large sand ring. “We set up so people can ride around it or ride inside of it,” she explains. “And we ask that none of the markers [letters] get moved once they’re measured out. If anyone sets anything up inside the markers, we ask they to put them away.”

Other mixed barns have more strict rules surrounding arena time, including setting a schedule that is emailed to boarders for alternating weeks for jumps to be set up and remain up, and weeks where there are no jumps in the indoor. But should a boarder wish to jump on a “flat” week, they still can, but like at Kaygan, the rider must put the jumps away after their ride.

But as is usually the case, there are people who either forget or think the rules don’t apply to them. “Anytime we find anyone who hasn’t stuck to our requests, if we know who it is then we’ll talk to them directly, but otherwise we will send a reminder to everyone and that seems to work pretty well,” Milligan says of how she handles such situations.

Of course, even with the most clearly laid-out rules and the most diligent stable manager watching over things, we all need to compromise sometimes. If jumps are allowed up all the time, or during a “jumping” day or week, then flat riders will have to learn to live with riding around them. This is frustrating for dressage and pleasure riders, particularly if you can’t ride a proper diagonal line or 20-metre circle. But remember, those jumping riders must haul the poles and standards up and down constantly on the days they jump.

The same applies to barrel racers or roping riders; any type of obstacle or equipment needs to be cleared for the safety and enjoyment of others at a mixed facility, unless you have express permission to do so, or another rider is following you and wants to use what was set up. In that case, they must do the clean-up.

On the plus side, spending time with riders who ride another discipline or style from yourself can be a valuable learning experience. Who knows – you may even decide to give a different discipline a try! (Working equitation, anyone?)

“I’ve learned over the years how much each discipline can learn from each other,” Milligan says, adding that classic horsemanship and riding values such as self-carriage, body control (of horse and rider) and building true partnerships with your horse matter more than what discipline someone rides. “That should be the foundation of riding.”

Despite best intentions and working towards a fun and safe environment for all, what if one person just doesn’t play well with others, indoors or outdoors, winter, summer, or fall? “There have been times when someone just hasn’t been a good fit for the community here that we have asked them to move on for the best interests of everyone,” admits Milligan. “In cases like that we give them ample notice to find other arrangements.”

Don’t get evicted! Learn the rules of your barn and respect the other riders no matter what type of riding they do. The common denominator is horses, and this is what we all do for fun, remember?