Lynne and Andrew came into their Virginia project with a clear understanding of what mattered. So when they built new in Virginia, they put their experience to work.
Starting Over on Ten Acres
When Lynne and Andrew purchased and built out their 10-acre property outside Middleburg, Virginia, they weren't starting from scratch in the way most new arena owners are. They'd already been down that road before.
Their first arena, built in Texas around 2017, had been a modest sand-only build by a general excavation services company claiming arena build experience. When the time came to upgrade their Texas arena, they found TruTex. They hired a well-regarded arena builder to first renovate and regrade the base, bring in additional sand, and then incorporate the TruTex Element fiber additive. This gave Lynne the footing improvements she was looking for, and after using this arena for another five years or so, the results meant TruTex was on the shortlist for what would come later.
Upgrading their previous Texas arena with TruTex Element.
In 2024, Lynne and Andrew returned to Virginia. Their Western Loudoun County property was a blank slate that required land clearing, site preparation, and building an equestrian facility from the ground up. Drawing on her past experience, Lynne refused to rush the process, prioritizing a well-designed site and correct installation from day one.
The Real Decision Wasn't Just About Footing
For many people planning an arena, the focus is usually on footing, size, and cost. Lynne and Andrew were thinking about all of those things—but they decided to prioritize something that often gets treated as an afterthought: what happens when it rains, and when it doesn't.
"In Texas, heavy downpours would flood the arena, keeping us off the surface for days," Andrew explained.
That experience had made drainage a non-negotiable for them. On the flip side, in Texas, the arena had also been irrigated, which had meant watering costs on city water, year-round management, and the constant balancing act of keeping the surface consistent.
Virginia presented a different challenge entirely: irrigation systems often require a dedicated well, and some are shut down due to freezing temperatures, making them mostly unusable for a portion of the year—and when the system is winterized, you lose the ability to add water to the surface if needed.
"I'd say as a whole, riders are picky about consistency in the footing, and not having to fuss with using water or drilling a new well was very appealing to me," Lynne noted.
The property had its own challenges. It was a 10-acre parcel nestled among other horse properties west of Middleburg—a region that receives real winter weather, significant seasonal rainfall, and the kind of heavy downpours that can turn an improperly built arena into a pond. They identified a good build site, but roughly three acres of overgrown land had to be reclaimed before construction could begin. The site required careful placement to account for drainage, proximity to the barn, and allowance for the service entrance and new paddocks.
Footing wasn't just a product preference; it was a practical decision shaped by two states, two climates, and years of real-world experience. There was something else driving the decision that doesn't always come up in conversations about footing: control.
"We wanted to make sure we had quality footing—and that meant having control of our own."— Andrew
It's a point worth sitting with. Even riders who train at top facilities can't guarantee the surface underfoot. Having an arena at home, with thoughtfully chosen footing and proper construction, is the only way to have complete say in what your horse is working on every day.
The decision pointed clearly toward a dust-free surface, specifically paired with TruTex's Platinum Arena System, which uses vertical drainage. With the Platinum design, water moves straight down through the footing and into the base rather than running horizontally across the surface. The result is an all-weather arena that rapidly recovers from rainfall without the footing migrating or pooling, and it doesn't require irrigation during dry spells.
"A Lot Of People Say They Can Build Arenas"
Lynne's first arena taught her something she carried directly into her Virginia build: there's a significant difference between someone who claims they can build an arena and someone who specializes in arenas.
"I think it's one of those situations where a lot of people say they can build arenas, but maybe they don't necessarily do it correctly."— Lynne
That realization shaped how they approached the Virginia project. What stood out about TruTex was the clarity of the process. It wasn't just that they came across professionally. It was that there was an obvious, defined construction approach.
How the Project Came Together
Site Selection
Site placement turned out to be the most involved part of the planning process. The barn and arena site had a natural slope requiring a cut-and-fill approach, and the practical need to keep the arena close to the barn.
"Naomi seemed really on top of things and was articulate about the exact design and structure of the arena," Lynne recalls.
She wasn't choosing between vague options, which gave her confidence.
"And then meeting Austin for our site visit really sealed it. We just knew we wanted this guy to build the arena. He was very energetic, clearly capable. Once we made our choice, I just had a belief that it would be done the right way."— Lynne
Lynne's phrase for it was "buy once, cry once." The upfront investment is real, but you're building something you won't have to rebuild.
"Buy once, cry once. You're going to end up spending the money eventually. You don't want to hire someone who says, 'Oh, I can build an arena.' You want someone who does this constantly and has a proven track record."— Lynne
A blank canvas: the arena site.
They shared the plan with Naomi early, narrowing placement down to two options. Austin visited while working on a nearby job and confirmed their preferred location made engineering sense — the slope was manageable, within normal parameters for the build, without requiring extra sitework outside of the normal arena scope. They placed the barn on the highest point of the build site for drainage, and the arena went in right off the barn: close enough that a horse being worked can always see the others in the barn, which keeps horses more settled on a private facility with low daily activity.
Andrew and Lynne first engaged an architect for some ideas on macro planning. Following his recommendation, they used tracing-paper drawings—"playing paper dolls," as Andrew called it—to work through the layout, moving structures around to scale until it felt right to them. "We executed it almost exactly as we drew it," Andrew said. Their advice for anyone doing the same: do the homework, pressure-test your ideas, and imagine yourself actually going through your day on the property before you commit to anything.
The Build: Vertically Draining Design, and Built to Last
The arena was built on a cut-and-fill site on a gentle slope with a fair pitch on the downslope side. Lynne noted that it was fascinating to see the full scope of the operation firsthand and the sheer logistical scale of what a professional arena build actually involves. As she put it, getting Austin and his crew mobilized from one job to the next is "like moving an army." It's not just a guy showing up with a truck and some equipment. It's a convoy—multiple pieces of heavy, specialized machinery, each serving a specific purpose in the grading, drainage, and base construction process. It's the kind of thing that's hard to fully appreciate until you've seen it. And once you have, the scope of what goes into building an arena correctly starts to look very different.
The finish work reflected that same high standard. Andrew noted that he was pleased with how nicely the surrounding ground was meticulously finished, leaving nothing left for them to address afterward.
The arena board fencing also stood out. Andrew hadn't been involved in every detail of the project, and the quality of the finished rail and fencing genuinely surprised him. "The way it was installed, and the quality of the materials were really nice," he said.
Construction took approximately three weeks, and the arena was rideable immediately upon completion.
The Erosion Detail That Made All the Difference
One of the most practical decisions Lynne and Andrew made came directly from a painful lesson in Texas. After their previous arena construction there, a significant rainfall caused a blowout—resulting in severe erosion on the exposed cut slope around the arena. No one had explicitly flagged it as a risk beforehand.
"We thought, gee, we could have avoided that whole fiasco if the suggestion had been made," Lynne said.
In Virginia, they didn't wait to be told. They sourced sod from a local company, laid it on roughly 30 feet of slope on either side of the arena—uphill and downhill—immediately after construction. It took root over the fall, and they came through the winter without a single washout.
Austin was pleased. And for Andrew, the lesson from this was clear enough that he'd make it a near-requirement for anyone building in a similar situation:
"I would make erosion control part of the process—a strong recommendation at least, on the downslope side. Seed might not take quickly enough before the first big thunderstorm, and then you could have washouts."— Andrew
The First Winter
Completed in late October 2025, the arena went straight into its first Virginia winter. As spring approaches, Lynne and Andrew are planning to get more intentional with grooming—working through the groomer settings in conversation with Austin and Naomi to fine-tune the surface feel. That ongoing dialogue is part of the relationship, and part of what a properly supported arena build looks like in practice.
What the arena did through its first winter:
It drained. After significant snowfall and rainfall, Lynne watched the snow melt on her arena versus a neighboring property built differently. Her arena cleared faster. Water ponded briefly on the frozen surface, then drained through the vertical system as things thawed. It held together. The footing remained consistent. Nothing shifted. Nothing washed out. It stayed rideable. Lynne noted that she's learned how it sounds underfoot when it's beginning to freeze in very cold weather, but she's been in the arena regularly throughout the winter.
"All the horsemen always like to say the horse has to have confidence in the footing. You feel that as the rider."— Lynne
Key Takeaways
Lynne and Andrew had one phrase that came up more than once in their conversation about this project: buy once, cry once. It's a phrase that's often used to justify a higher upfront cost. But what they meant by it goes a little deeper than that.
The "crying" isn't just about money. It's about the erosion blowout they dealt with in Texas. The riding time lost waiting for a flooded arena to drain. The inconsistency of footing you don't control. The hassle of dealing with irrigation. The horse that doesn't feel confident because the surface isn't right.
For someone planning their first private arena, or trying to decide whether to do it properly or find a cheaper path, here's what Lynne and Andrew's experience demonstrates:
Study the site before you build on it. They spent a significant amount of time pressure-testing placement options before breaking ground. That time wasn't wasted—it's the reason everything works the way it does now.
Drainage is foundational, not optional. Andrew said it plainly: drainage was non-negotiable. Everything else about the arena is shaped by what happens to water when it arrives.
Plan for erosion control from the start. Budget for it. Schedule it. The cut slopes around a new arena are vulnerable, and a single storm can undo weeks of meticulous work if you haven't protected them.
Choose the process, not just the product. Lynne didn't choose TruTex because of a brochure. She chose TruTex because the process was clearly defined, the people were credible, and she had already experienced a great outcome with their footing in her previous ring.
Stay in the conversation. The relationship doesn't end at completion. Grooming, surface feel, and long-term maintenance are things the team continues to advise on—and that ongoing support is part of what you're investing in.
One small thing Lynne mentioned she'd do differently: the entrance apron to the arena, a roughly 10x10-foot area where the horses walk in, is currently stone dust. She gets some stone dust tracking into the arena from horses' hooves. She'd prefer to use sand there instead if she were doing it over again. It's a personal preference, but it's the kind of thing that makes a difference day-to-day.
What It Means to Have It Right
Lynne and Andrew's story is useful not because it was complicated, but because it wasn't. They had done the work beforehand. They knew what they wanted. They'd built trust with TruTex through a previous project. They came in informed, and the process reflected that.
The way a facility is laid out and planned shapes every single day you spend in it, and those decisions are made long before construction begins.
Mickey and Ritzy at home, admiring their new arena.
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