(Photo courtesy of Susan J Stickle – contact susanjstickle@gmail.com for full resolution image).
Wellington, FL (December 27, 2016) – Sahar Daniel Hirosh, an Israeli FEI dressage rider based out of New Hope, Pennsylvania and Wellington, Florida, has a busy schedule showing, training, and caring for 16 horses. Like any full-time trainer, the last thing the young professional needed was to add time to his daily schedule to deal with poor arena footing. Hirosh’s Pennsylvania facility suffered from arenas that did not seem to hold moisture, no matter what Hirosh tried. Clouds of dust would engulf Hirosh and his fellow riders every time they rode; with three typical arena watering and drags needed daily. The footing became a big problem, until Hirosh found the perfect solution – enlisting the help of global arena footing expert Premier Equestrian.
“It’s an awesome story,” says Hirosh enthusiastically. “We only spend four or five months up north before heading south to Florida for the winter, so a total reconditioning of an arena for such a short time didn’t make sense. Most equestrians are on a budget, you know. So I called Heidi Zorn, President of Premier Equestrian, and she was awesome. We sent Premier some samples of our footing and they looked at it and found a way to make it work for us within our budget.”
Premier Equestrian recommended that Hirosh add ArenaAid to his sand. The nylon and polyester fibers mixed with the sand to give it structure, and this resulted in increased stability and grip. The ArenaAid fibers hold moisture while also providing cushion and rebound for give.
“The footing ended up better than some of the footing we have here in Florida,” Hirosh explains. “It solved all the problems we were having (and they were bad)! I thought I would have to move out of the barn because the footing just wasn’t going to work. But Premier’s solution was affordable, and now I water it with the automatic sprinklers one time each day and drag it one time. It was amazing what they did.” Hirosh left his arenas in Premier Equestrian’s hands while on a trip in Europe for a week, and when he returned the footing was completely improved. “Premier really came through for me,” he says. But that’s not the end of the story.
“Once I shared my story with other people, they came to me and said, ‘We have the same problem.’” So Hirosh invited them to his barn to see the transformation for themselves. “Then Premier worked with them and fixed their footing problems, as well,” he says. “The whole process was amazing. The new footing made a huge difference for me, my clients, and the horses. We are so happy.”
Before making tracks to Florida this year, Hirosh took three horses to the annual Dressage at Devon competition in October. Known for his patience and careful preparation of his horses, Hirosh rode three horses in Fourth Level and in the always large and hugely competitive Prix St. Georges classes. With 16 horses in his care including three of his own, the busy trainer will next compete experienced as well as young horses during the 2017 winter equestrian season in Wellington, Florida. His high-quality string includes several youngsters for the FEI Young Horse divisions as well as his Small Tour horses that are getting ready for the Grand Prix.
For more than a decade, Premier Equestrian – the Official Footing Supplier of the U.S. Equestrian Federation – has offered equestrians affordable, high-quality arena footing, dressage arenas built from technically advanced materials, dressage arena packages, horse jumps, barn and stable equipment. Premier provided the dressage and driving arenas for the 2010 World Equestrian Games, and Premier Equestrian arena footing is installed at The Del Mar National and World Dressage Masters arenas. Request a free catalog, free arena footing sample, or free arena sand analysis by calling (800) 611-6109 or visiting http://premierequestrian.com/horse-arena-footing/.
