After two weeks of use, alteration and examination, the thirdnew flooring installed in the Lincoln County Multi-Purpose FacilityArena this year seems to be doing the job.

Facility Manager Quinn Jordan said the newest flooring, amixture of clean, brown dirt excavated from the facility groundsand sandy material donated by local contractor Oddee Smith and SonsInc., is shaping up to be the multi-discipline answer to thearena’s equestrian needs.

“We’re very excited about the new footing,” he said. “It will getbetter and better, but it will take time to get it just right. Wealways said we were gonna do what needed to be done no matter what.The new material is multi-functional and will meet the needs acrossall disciplines.”

Jordan said about 1,000 yards of the brown dirt have been appliedto the arena floor at a depth of 12 inches, and about 235 yards ofsand have been worked into the flooring. Jordan said sand wouldcontinue to be added and tilled into the dirt until the appropriatelevel of footing was reached.

“We’ll add a little sand, an inch at a time, until we get theconsistency we want,” he said.

Jordan said the new arena flooring excels over the previousdirt/sand mixtures because it has a low clay content, whereas theold versions of the floor were high in clay and provided much toohard of a footing.

“It doesn’t pack as hard and it accepts sand – it just provides agood footing for the horses,” he said. “The clay was what waspacking. The less clay a dirt has, the less it will pack. As we addmore sand over time, we’ll get a better footing and fluff on top ofthat material that will allow the horses to get an optimalgrip.”

Jordan said he and the Lincoln County Multi-Purpose FacilityCommission had representatives from the Mississippi State FairCommission in Jackson inspect the arena’s new floor, and itreceived “their seal of approval.” Further sand is being added tothe flooring mix at the representatives’ suggestion, he said.

Since the new dirt came from the facility grounds and itsaccompanying sand was donated and the leveling work done at nocharge by Copiah Lincoln Community College’s heavy equipmentoperating class, the only cost incurred for the latest arenaupgrade was approximately $4,000, Jordan said. The amount comesfrom the hauling rates of Martin’s Dozier Service – $4 peryard.

Half of the costs were paid by a group of local equestrians andarena frequenters – mostly members of the National Barrel HorseAssociation Mississippi 05 chapter – who have met, debated andworked alongside Jordan and the commission throughout the year tofind the right arena flooring.

After a somewhat rocky relationship had developed between the groupand the commission, the new dirt seems to have brought a smile toeveryone’s face.

“I think we’ve got some good stuff this time,” said NBHA memberJoAnn Adams. “The dirt they have in there is a good base, and Ifeel like we are on the right track.”

Adams suggested the new arena flooring would be the “stuff tokeep,” adding that it appears safe for horses to run on – a pointof contention over previous floorings.

Adams also said the local NBHA chapter will likely begin hostingmore of its shows at the arena after moving them to other areaswhen previous floorings were unsatisfactory.

South Mississippi Horse Association Director Linda Case said herorganization was also eager to return to its home turf.

“We’ll come back and have at least half our events there,” shesaid. “We tried the new dirt out and it was great. I would say it’sa 100 percent improvement.”

Jordan said the former flooring material removed from the arenafloor would be recycled as fill dirt in the ongoing construction ofthe facility’s RV park.