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A Teddy Bear Massacre?
By: Katie Bird ‘09
STAFF WRITER

It's a dust bunny plague…it's a mutilated carpet…it's Euro felt? This new peculiar-looking footing was added to the Harriet S. Rogers Indoor Riding Ring over winter break. The shredded, fluffy heaps have raised some eyebrows as students return to the center this semester. Although it may look like a stuffed animal execution took place, the Euro felt is actually a state-of-the-art addition to the arena.

Euro felt is a fabric added to the flooring mixture of sand and Perma Flex (the hunks of rubber). Jon Conyers, an instructor, says the arena “is a big mixing bowl.”

The arena needed something that would hold water and prevent the ground from packing. The felt maintains a fluffy-textured floor. This makes the footing softer for the horses (and for any unfortunate riders who fall) and decreases the frequency of having to water the ring.

Jessica McCarthy '07 is excited about the prospect of a softer landing. She says, “I love the new footing. It looks really soft so if I fall off it won't hurt.” Hopefully not too many of Sweet Briar’s riders will have to test that theory out.

Currently, the “fluffclouds,” as Conyers calls them, are so noticeable because the sand has not yet entirely attached to the fibers. Eventually, it will blend in, and not look like students are riding on a cloud of carpet clippings.

But until then, the wads of felt will have to be spread from the corners of the ring by hand in an effort to mix it all together. The Euro felt required the purchasing of a new drag.

This drag is more aggressive, with two parts: teeth that dig deeper into the sand to break it up and a roller that fluffs the felt as it goes along. This machine makes its rounds every day, since that is how often the footing needs to be re-fluffed.

So far, the faculty at the Riding Center is very pleased—“we're all really happy with it now. It will be good for the horses,” Conyers says.

Euro felt is one of the best products on the market and is used on the national level, so positive results are expected. While it seems like students will be gallivanting through tufts of llama wool until it mixes in, the Euro felt will offer advantages that will aid both horse and rider.