Since soil conditions dictated that the pond go close to the covered area everything had to be kept low so the view was not blocked. The site had a slight slope and rose just enough to keep all obstacles in view as you went further from the viewing area. At the end of the bowl the hill side rose rapidly and provided a perfect photo backdrop for the horse and riders.
When we started it seemed an impossibility that in six days a mountain trail course with over 30 obstacles would take place. But with the long hours the crew put in the course all came together and a clinic was held the following two days. The obstacles are well built and Creek Side Horse Park will see many years of fun use in helping to grow this new discipline.
Happy Trails and Bolender Blessings
Mark Bolender
Continued from the previous page...
and some challenges to overcome. The site offered the potential to be one of the most spectacular courses that I had ever constructed if I could overcome a large wet area. This was not wetlands but an area where the water flowed from the entire site.
The Vision
I sketched a simple outline of my vision of what we could do with the site and utilize the natural amphitheater. I wanted to use 2 ΒΌ acres of the 400-acre site for the Mountain Trail Course plus use an adjoining area for a warm up arena. The next step was to figure out how to take the wet area and turn it into a pond which would be approximately 200 feet long. The problem with a wet area is what do you do with the soft soil which turns into mud and how do you get a base for footing to ensure safety of the horse and rider? A wet area presents a host of issues but often it signals an area that will have clay and will hold water without a liner but building a base after the mud is removed is critical. In this case, I used the soft soil to make
two hills. I then topped the hills off with soil that was a little dryer and figured that the hills would dry out in a few months. That meant that this part of the course would be off limits for a short time, but both hills were a perfect part of the overall sculpture of the course.
So far so good in digging the pond and using the good soil to construct the approaches to the trestle bridge which required around 350 yards of soil which had to be compacted. We had to move the fill about two hundred feet with a skid steer and a large wheel loader. While the dirt was being moved the carpenters were busy building the obstacles.
The owners had constructed a large covered area where people could sit and eat plus get out of the weather when needed. The building was sitting in a way that I wanted to utilize it in a manner where people could sit and watch the horse and riders navigate the course. For that reason, the mini mounds and trestle bridge would need to go into the background and not block the view of the obstacles. Since soil conditions dictated that the pond go close to the covered area everything had to be kept low so the view was not blocked. The site had a slight slope and rose just enough to keep all obstacles in view as you went further from the viewing area. At the end of the bowl the hill side rose rapidly and provided a perfect photo backdrop for the horse and riders.