Show jumping course for a 40 × 60 arena: club track and jump-off plans
By Alex Young
A 40 × 60 metre arena, indoor or out, is the arena a lot of UK clubs and yards actually have. It is not a championship ring. It is room to ride. The width is the difference. In a 20 × 60 indoor school the short side is the problem. In a 40 × 60 the short side is 40 metres, and that changes what a course can ask.
This post gives two plans for the same arena: a 90 cm club track and a jump-off off the same fences. If you are working in an indoor school, start with Show jumping course in a small arena: a 20 × 60 indoor that still rides. If you only need one line, use Related distances in a 20 × 40.
YardForge is not official British Showjumping or FEI software. Validation in the designer is a planning aid. Check the class rules and the schedule before anyone jumps it.
40 × 60 is room to ride
40 × 60 metres is 2,400 m². That is twice the area of a 20 × 60 school. Most of the gain is width, and width is what turns need.
What it buys:
- Width for diagonals. A diagonal in a 20 m school is a short cut across the corner. In a 40 m arena it is a real line with a straight approach and a straight landing.
- Real related lines. The British Showjumping Distance Guide, October 2018 v2 gives a horse five-stride related as 70ft to 72ft and a six-stride as 83ft to 85ft (about 25.3 to 25.9 m). Either fits on a 60 m long side with room to straighten off the corner. A related on the diagonal is also possible, which a 20 m width never really allows.
- Two changes of rein. You can ask for left and right without every change being a tight rollback.
- A combination on a diagonal. A two-stride double (35ft to 36ft horse) or a one-stride (24ft 6" to 25ft 6" horse) can sit on a diagonal and still leave a related on a long side.
What it does not buy:
- A championship ring. 40 × 60 is a good club and training arena. It is not the arena a big affiliated show builds in. Do not copy a ring plan and squeeze it.
- Freedom from the rules. Class rules, heights, spreads and the number of efforts come from the schedule and the standard you are running. Check them before you draw.
- More fences for the sake of it. More room is for better turns, not for a longer track.
How many fences fit in a 40 × 60?
There is no single number that is right for every class. The schedule and the class rules set the count. For an unaffiliated or club 90 cm class, a track of around eight to ten numbered fences with one combination, one related line and two changes of rein uses a 40 × 60 well without crowding it. Draw it, walk it, and take a fence out if a turn gets tight.
What changes from a 20 × 60?
The length is the same. The width doubles. In a 20 × 60 school you keep the combination off the short side and the hard questions on the long sides. In a 40 × 60 the diagonals become lines, so a combination or a related can live on a diagonal and the long sides are free for singles and a change of rein. The walls stop being the main question. Ground, gate and going take over.
Plan 1: a 90 cm club track
Set Unaffiliated or British Showjumping in the designer first. The live checks change with the standard you pick.
The arena is drawn as Indoor Custom 40 × 60 with the FEI Jumping (lite) checks at 90 cm. The check shows 0 errors.
| Fence | Type | Height | Spread | Distance in | Strides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vertical | 90 cm | 8.3 m from start | ||
| 2 | Oxer | 90 cm | 1.00 m | 36.3 m | |
| 3 | Vertical | 90 cm | 13.6 m | 3 | |
| 4 | Oxer | 90 cm | 1.00 m | 13.9 m | 3 |
| 5A | Vertical | 90 cm | 13.5 m | 3 | |
| 5B | Oxer | 90 cm | 1.00 m | 7.6 m | Double |
| 6 | Vertical | 90 cm | 20.0 m | 5 | |
| 7 | Vertical | 90 cm | 19.2 m | 4 | |
| 8 | Wall | 90 cm | 0.50 m | 21.8 m | 5 |
| Finish | 6.2 m |
Open the plan: https://yardforge.co.uk/view/34223091-5d73-4fcd-a7c2-587007b0914d
How to read the track:
- Fence 1 is an inviting single, straight, away from the corner. A horse should land and settle, not land and turn.
- Related distances in the table are what this plan measured in the designer. Check them against the BS guide range for the stride count, and set the short end of the range if the going rides deep.
- The combination is the double at 5A to 5B, 7.6 m apart. It is the one technical question, so give it a straight approach.
- Changes of rein come between singles, not in the middle of a line.
- The last fence is a single they can see from a long way out. Not pointed at the ingate.
Ponies need the pony columns from the guide, not a shortened horse line. If the same day runs horses and ponies, draw two versions. Tables are in British Showjumping pony distances.
The official guide says its distances are for guidance only. Site, ground and the material in the cups all change the number. Walk it and move a wing if it rides wrong.
Plan 2: the jump-off
The jump-off uses fences from the first round. You should not need to build anything new.
The jump-off uses the same course and leaves out fence 4, so riders go from 3 straight to the double.
| Fence | Type | Height | Spread | Distance in | Strides |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vertical | 90 cm | 8.3 m from start | ||
| 2 | Oxer | 90 cm | 1.00 m | 36.3 m | |
| 3 | Vertical | 90 cm | 13.6 m | 3 | |
| 5A | Vertical | 90 cm | 27.7 m (skips 4) | 7 | |
| 5B | Oxer | 90 cm | 1.00 m | 7.6 m | Double |
| 6 | Vertical | 90 cm | 20.0 m | 5 | |
| 7 | Vertical | 90 cm | 19.2 m | 4 | |
| 8 | Wall | 90 cm | 0.50 m | 21.8 m | 5 |
| Finish | 6.2 m |
Open the plan: https://yardforge.co.uk/view/34223091-5d73-4fcd-a7c2-587007b0914d
What this jump-off decides, and what to think about in your own:
- Which fences stay. This plan drops fence 4 and keeps the double. Keep fence 1 or a fence just as inviting. Keep the combination if it rode well in the first round. Drop the fence that caused trouble.
- Where the time is saved. Give riders one honest choice: an inside turn or a longer, safer route. In a 40 × 60 the width makes that choice real.
- A safe rollback. One rollback is enough. Leave room for a horse to land, balance and turn. If the turn only works at a walk in the plan, it will not work at speed.
- The finish. The last fence should be straight with room to pull up before the fence line or the gate.
A jump-off is shorter, not harder by stacking tricks. One turn, one choice, one clear finish.
Building it on the day
The plan is the start. The arena on the day is the test.
- Walk the ground first. Look for wet patches, deep sand, and the line where the harrow did not go. Move a fence off a bad patch before you number it.
- Gate side. Know where the ingate and the collecting ring are. Horses drift towards them. Do not put the last fence or a combination pointed straight at the gate.
- Numbers and flags. Red on the right, white on the left. Number every fence and every element of the combination so riders and the judge read the same course.
- Print the plan PDF. A printed plan stops the builder from guessing. See Show jumping course plan PDF for what the plan PDF contains.
- Set the jump-off before the class starts. Mark which fences stay and where the start and finish are, so the change takes minutes.
If you would not jump a line on a quiet Tuesday, change it before the first horse goes.
Check your lines
Before you lock any related distance, check it. Use the free stride chart to turn a stride count into feet and metres for horses and ponies. For how one related line works in a smaller school, see Related distances in a 20 × 40.
Then walk it. A measuring wheel on the day beats a screen.
Build your own 40 × 60 plan
Open the designer. Set the arena to 40 × 60 metres. Place the ingate and the judge first, then build the track and the jump-off against the real space. The canvas is true to scale and the related distances update as you move a wing.
It is free during beta. Nothing is on sale yet.
Related: Show jumping course in a 20 × 60 · Related distances in a 20 × 40 · Free stride chart