Julia and Larry Carlson
Challenge – Covered riding space
Solution – Hercules Truss Arch Building
Size – 65′ wide x 80′ long
Application – Indoor riding arena
Right before their retirement, Julia and Larry Carlson decided to start up their hobby of horseback riding again. The Carlsons had a barn built and filled it up right away with four new horses. Set on an 80-acre farm, they had the perfect place for riding except during Pennsylvania’s grueling winter months.
The Carlsons began to research options that would allow them to continue riding throughout the year. “From talking with a contractor that we used to build our barn, we learned about ClearSpan buildings. We followed up with the information he gave us and the seed was planted,” says Julia. She continues, “I was into my second full year of retirement so I was extremely excited about the prospect of a covered riding arena. My husband and I contacted another vendor and after comparing the two, we decided to purchase the ClearSpan Hercules Truss Arch Building for our riding arena.”
“Our decision to choose ClearSpan was based on the affordable price and the fact that we knew we had a contractor that could complete the job from start to finish,” Julia notes. The Carlsons proceeded with ClearSpan in late January 2010, and soon the groundbreaking began. Julia found working with ClearSpan to be as fulfilling as watching her arena take shape from the ground up. “From beginning to end, working with ClearSpan’s Truss Arch specialist and the construction services group and engineers helped everything fall into place. Any questions that we had prior to and during construction were always answered immediately.” With help from the ClearSpan team, the building went up easily and in a timely manner.
The Carlsons are very pleased with the new addition to their farm. Explains Julia, “Our main use for the building is equine related, but it is so versatile. Over the winter we set up an inner 50′ round pen and still have room to tie our horses up along the sidewall. At one end of the round pen, we integrated a gating system that goes directly outdoors so once our horses are ready we just open the gate and hit the trail.” Besides riding, the Carlsons have found many other uses for the building. “My husband has built a hay wagon in there, rebuilt a deck on the trailer, and during crop harvesting we open the doors, drive in, drop off loaded wagons and keep going,” says Julia.
The benefits of the ClearSpan building are many for the Carlsons. “During the daytime you never need a light on. Also, the bright sunshine is diffused so there is no sun glare inside. It’s cooler inside in the summer and warmer in the winter in our building. The horses definitely love it. They don’t have to fight the hot sun or the biting bugs in the summer. We have also found the environment has a calming effect on our horses,” adds Julia. She continues, “The thing we like most about our building is that we can now ride our horses 365 days a year no matter what the weather brings. The ClearSpan building is wonderful and we look forward to many years of enjoyment, no matter what we use it for.”
For more information on how ClearSpan helped the Carlsons, contact Julia at jl7379@msn.com.
