Kiser Arena Specialists >>> Footing Experts - Arena Construction, Consulting, Renovation & Show Management

Arena Consulting
-By Kiser Arena Specialists

At Kiser Arena Specialists™ we know how important the safety and performance of your horses is to you. There is no doubt that by now you have invested a lot of your resources, both time and money, into your passion for your horses.

Whether you are building a new horse arena or you need to fix the one you have, there is nothing more critical to your success than to have the proper footing designed specifically for what you want your horses to accomplish.

bob kiser

And, if you ask the biggest names in the industry, they'll tell you that what you want is a Kiser Arena™. That's because a Kiser Arena™ means proper footing every time.

Over 80% of all “soundness” related injuries are a result of poorly constructed arenas that have the wrong types and amounts of material in them. Critical design decisions are made long before you break ground. And, many costly mistakes can be avoided with expert consultation.

Bob Kiser is one of the world's leading experts in arena consulting and construction. He has been sought after by most of the industry's top money earners, trainers and performance shows.

One of Bob's major concerns over the years has been that many people tell him they are experiencing serious problems after spending precious dollars on what proves to be inadequate and/or even dangerous footing conditions.

bob kiser

Bob takes a detailed, scientific approach to arena consultation, and he believes that each arena must be looked at as unique based on location, discipline and your specific needs. Building or renovating an arena is both an art and a science: It is not as simple as just peeling off the top layer of the earth and putting down sand. Bob’s years of experience can give you the security you need in knowing that you are doing it right the first time!

Arena Consulting Packages

PACKAGE #1 (Off Site)

PACKAGE #2 (On Site)

Your arena consulting package will include the following:

A Survey/Questionnaire to be completed by you upon purchase
You will need to send a soil profile (when possible)
You will need to send soil samples to Kiser Consultants for analysis
- Provide soil samples from all possible site locations
A scientific soil analysis will be done
- Moisture Percolation
- Moisture Evaporation
- Compaction
A soil analysis report will be provided to you
A soil recommendation report will be provide to you
Samples of materials will be sent to you
3 hours of phone consultation with Kiser Consultants
- The phone consultation will be done after the soil analysis is complete
- Kiser Consultants will make the initial call to you.
Kiser Consultants will assist in the site selection of the arena
Kiser Consultants will provide a drainage plan for the arena
Kiser Consultants will select the footing materials
- Kiser Consultants will assist you in contacting local quarries and having them ship him different samples of
  their sands and silts
- Depending on the purpose of the arena (hunter jumper, reining, cutting etc...) and depending on the soils available
  to the customer’s region, Kiser Consultants will attempt to use local footing material. If the right soil type is not available, Kiser Consultants will recommend an artificial soil product.
Kiser Consultants will assist you in selecting a local contractor in the your region to install the arena(s)
- Kiser Consultants will consult with the contractor during the construction process
- Kiser Consultants will supply the customer/contractor with personalized specifications for the arena(s) being built.
  - Arena Dimensions
  - Construction Plans (processes for proper installation)
  - Soil material and depths of layers
A “Final Summery” Report will be provided with arena maintenance suggestions.

Your arena consulting package will include the following:

A Survey/Questionnaire to be completed by customer upon purchase
- 2 days of on site consultation
- Kiser Consultants will assist in the site selection of the arena if needed.
- A drainage plan for the arena will be provided if needed.
- Kiser Consultants will select the footing material
  - Kiser Consultants will visit local quarries to insure that the customer has the right types of sand and/or silt clay for their arenas.
  - Depending on the purpose of the arena (hunter jumper, reining, cutting etc...) and depending on the soils available to the customers region Kiser Consultants will attempt to use local footing material. If the right soil type is not available, Kiser Consultants will recommend an artificial soil product.
Kiser Consultants will assist you in selecting a local contractor in the your region to install the arena(s)
Kiser Consultants will meet with the contractor during the two day consultation
Kiser Consultants will supply the customer/contractor with personalized specifications for the arena(s) being built.
- Arena Dimensions
- Construction Plans (processes for proper installation)
- Soil material and depths of layers
4 hours of phone consultation with Kiser Consultants
- Kiser Consultants will make the call(s) to the customer
A “Final Summery” Report will be provided with arena maintenance
suggestions.

PACKAGE #3 (On Site For Facilities)

Your arena consulting package will include the following:

ON SITE CONSULTATION
- 2 days of on site consultation
- Kiser Consultants will analyze your current footing situation
- Moisture retention and percolation will be analyzed
- Kiser Consultants will then begin the selection process for the new footing materials. (if needed)
  - Kiser Consultants will visit local quarries to insure that the customer has the right types of sand and/or silt clay for their arenas.
  - Depending on the purpose of the arena (hunter jumper, reining, cutting etc...) and depending on the soils available to the customers region Kiser Consultants will
    attempt to use local footing material. If the right soil type is not available, Kiser Consultants will recommend an artificial soil product.
Kiser Consultants will work and train your personnel on the following topics:
- Proper footing maintenance for all equine disciplines
- How to properly manage a horse show for all equine disciplines
- How to deal with the “unhappy customer”
- The importance of moisture management
- Arena Equipment needed to properly manage a show
Kiser Consultants will assist you in selecting a local contractor in the your region to install the arena(s)
Kiser Consultants will meet with the contractor during the two day consultation
Kiser Consultants will supply the customer/contractor with personalized specifications for the arena(s) being built.
- Arena Dimensions
- Construction Plans (processes for proper installation)
- Soil material and depths of layers
4 hours of phone consultation with Kiser Consultants
- Kiser Consultants will make the call(s) to the customer
Kiser Arena consultants will attempt to complete all of the above during the two day onsite consultation. However, if additional days are needed they will be billed at $500.00 per day.

Kiser Arena Specialists™ Biography

Kiser Arena Specialists was established in 1988 by Bob Kiser as a result of being asked by the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) to take over the supervision of the footing for the NRHA Futurity.

Bob’s forty years of farming, and in-depth knowledge of the different kinds of dirts, sands, and moisture management, changed the entire culture of the National Reining Horse association.

The significant difference Bob made, over the years, in the footing for the NRHA caught the attention of the American Quarter Horse
Association (AQHA) and in 1998 he was asked to develop a new footing, and maintain the arenas, for the AQHA World Show and all subsequent AQHA World Championships.

By 1998 Kiser Arena Specialists was under such demand that Bob invited his son, Jim Kiser, to join his team. Jim was, in his own right, a very accomplished horse trainer and showman but decided to leave that world to assist his father in further developing their family business which included a full line of arena equipment.

So, between Bob’s expertise in managing footing and designing equipment, and Jim’s knowledge of horses and horse shows, they quickly began to dominate North America’s arena business.

Soon, Bob was under demand, world wide, for his unique understanding of arena footing and its effect on the soundness of the horse. Bob’s consulting business soon expanded to such levels that in 2003, he and Jim had to split their responsibilities. Bob began to focus more on arena consultation and construction, and Jim developed, and oversaw, several teams who manage major horse shows for over two hundred and fifty days per year.

Also, in 2003, Kiser Arena Specialists entered into a partnership with Absolute Innovations, Inc. (Manufacturers of the TR3 Rake) which joined together two of the largest manufactures of arena equipment in the world. Both Bob and Jim are now part owners of this multi-million dollar company.

Today, Bob travels somewhere every week, all over the world, consulting and building arenas while Jim manages the countries largest horse shows. Both English and Western horsemen and
women around the world benefit from the experience and knowledge of Kiser Arena Specialists.

Both Bob and Jim live, with their wives, in Gainesville Texas, right in the heart of America’s horse country.

Dirty Business

Posted by: Sally Harrison on April 25th, 2007

Ranchers know cattle, but farmers deal the dirt. That was the reason the National Cutting Horse Association called on Bob Kiser last year.

The NCHA holds its three events at Will Rogers Equestrian Center. The Ford NCHA Super Stakes, which concluded on April 15, was the latest NCHA show to benefit from Kiser’s expertise.

An Illinois corn and soybean farmer turned entrepreneur, Kiser designed an innovative new harrow or “drag” to maintain arena floors. The National Reining Horse Association has used Kiser’s system since 1988; the American Quarter Horse Association consulted Kiser in 1999 and has been using Kiser’s DragMaster at their three major shows for the past eight years.

“It’s been fantastic,” said Dave Brian, NCHA’s director of shows, of Kiser’s drag. “The beauty part is that the arena floor is level from start to finish, so everybody has the same chance. Every time a new set starts, the arena floor is the same as it was before.”

The Super Stakes was a 20-day event that involves 1,800 entries vying for a total purse of $3.14 million. There were seven to nine sets of 12 to 15 riders most days, and at the conclusion of each set, the ground was worked with a drag in preparation for the next. The show used a total of 9,000 cows — milling, dodging and running — not to mention the impact of the horses themselves, and at the end of each set, the arena floor resembled a dry riverbed minus the rocks. The NCHA has struggled to keep the ground consistent with an eight-inch base consisting of dirt and sand, topped with three inches of pure sand – a total of 1,400 tons.

After a day spent watching competition at the NCHA Super Stakes at Will Rogers Equestrian Center in Fort Worth last year, Kiser knew what needed to be done to meet NCHA’s challenges with the arena surface.

“Most of it was because the drag they were using didn’t work the whole soil profile,” he explained. “The ground changed from a hard to a shallow surface and then, as the horse got to the outside [of the working area], the sand got deeper. Everywhere the horse went, he was on a different type surface. And when horses went to stop in the deep sand on the sides, it took a lot of effort to get up out of there and that’s how injuries occur.”

The NCHA implemented Kiser’s plan with a DragMaster fitted with a water tank for the first time during the NCHA Futurity. The improvement was dramatic.

Kiser got involved in the business of arena maintenance when he owned reining horses and the National Reining Horse Association came to him for advice.

“They were having a lot of trouble with their ground and asked me if I knew anything about it,” he explained. “I really didn’t except that I knew a lot more about working sand and dirt than most people. And it’s turned into quite a business for us.”

Kiser built an international business with Absolute Innovations Manufacturers and Drag Master. In addition, his reputation as an arena specialist keeps him on the move, with clients as far-flung as Argentina, Poland, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium.

“Experts in the field of horse injuries tell us that 80 percent of injuries are related to improper footing,” Kiser noted. “With all the rules and regulations that these associations have in place, there are no specifications for the ground, and that is one of the most important factors.

“My goal is to make it so that people have the same good footing wherever they show at major events,” he said.

“Most of it was because the drag they were using didn’t work the whole soil profile,” he explained. “The ground changed from a hard to a shallow surface and then, as the horse got to the outside [of the working area], the sand got deeper. Everywhere the horse went, he was on a different type surface. And when horses went to stop in the deep sand on the sides, it took a lot of effort to get up out of there and that’s how injuries occur.”

The NCHA implemented Kiser’s plan with a DragMaster fitted with a water tank for the first time during the NCHA Futurity. The improvement was dramatic.

Kiser got involved in the business of arena maintenance when he owned reining horses and the National Reining Horse Association came to him for advice.

“They were having a lot of trouble with their ground and asked me if I knew anything about it,” he explained. “I really didn’t except that I knew a lot more about working sand and dirt than most people. And it’s turned into quite a business for us.”

Kiser built an international business with Absolute Innovations Manufacturers and Drag Master. In addition, his reputation as an arena specialist keeps him on the move, with clients as far-flung as Argentina, Poland, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium.

“Experts in the field of horse injuries tell us that 80 percent of injuries are related to improper footing,” Kiser noted. “With all the rules and regulations that these associations have in place, there are no specifications for the ground, and that is one of the most important factors.

“My goal is to make it so that people have the same good footing wherever they show at major events,” he said.

Show Management

Bob and Jim Kiser are the designers of the Kiser Line™ of Arena Equipment. Not only are they recognized world-wide for having the Equine industry's elite arena equipment, but they are even better known for their unmatched knowledge and expertise in designing and maintaining arena footing.

With the increasing value of top performance horses and added purse money in the equine show horse industry, arena footing has become a major priority at horse show around te world.

Beginning in 1987 with the National Reining Horse Association Futurity, Kiser Arena Specialists and the equipment they have developed have continued to provide the best footing possible for many equine events throughout the world. These include, the American Quarter Horse World championships, National Reining Horse Association Futurity and Derby, American Paint Horse World Championships, National Reined Cow Horse Association major events, National Cutting Horse Association major events, Texas Classic, Fort Worth Livestock Show an Rodeo, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, All-American Quarter Horse Congress and World Equestrian Games in Jrez, Spain and Aachen, Germany.

If your association or club is planning and event and the arena footing is an issue, please contact us to see how we can help you provide your contestants with the best footing possible.