Horse Arena
Every schooling session, sorted.
Arena kit and schooling essentials - set it up right, ride it better.
Horse Arena Equipment
If you are marking out or building a school at home, this collection covers the three jobs that matter most: lettering the arena, holding poles up on your wings, and raising poles for pole work and grids. In-stock prices start at £5.40 for the Shires Learner Dressage Test Board, and the collection holds 23 arena products from Shires, Stubbs, Polepods, Horsemen's Pride and Premier Equine.
In a hurry?
- Cheapest way to letter a school: Shires Self-Adhesive Dressage Letters, pack of 12, £7.20.
- Hook-on steel lettering: Stubbs Hook On Markers Letters ABCEFHKMRSVP (S66H), £112.27.
- Learning a test: Shires Learner Dressage Test Board, £5.40.
- Standard pole cups: Stubbs Jump Cups Pole JS40, pair, £22.54 for 7cm uprights — or plastic-coated JS42, pair, £13.76 for 6cm uprights.
- Raised pole work: Polepods, pack of 4, £57.15 (blue or red in stock).
- Lifting trotting poles: Horsemen's Pride Rail Razer, 4 pack, £37.90 (red or blue).
Which arena kit should you buy first?
Work backwards from what you actually school. A flatwork rider needs letters before anything else; a jumping rider needs cups that fit the wings already in the field. Use the table to match the job to the product.
| What you are doing | Pick this | In-stock price | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lettering a school on a budget | Shires Self-Adhesive Dressage Letters (pack of 12) | £7.20 | Twelve peel-and-stick letters, each 20cm x 19cm |
| Lettering a permanent arena | Stubbs Hook On Markers Letters ABCEFHKMRSVP (S66H) | £112.27 | Twelve steel letters that hook onto rails up to 55mm thick, with no screwing |
| Learning and riding tests from memory | Shires Learner Dressage Test Board | £5.40 | Double-sided wipe-clean board, long arena one side and short arena the other, pen included |
| Poles on 7cm wing uprights | Stubbs Jump Cups Pole JS40 (pair) | £22.54 | Heavy-duty steel in bright zinc plate, 2.38kg a pair |
| Poles on 6cm wing uprights | Stubbs Jump Cups Plastic Coated JS42 (pair) | £13.76 | Lightweight Stubbyfine-coated model with bright zinc-plated pins |
| Barrel cups with a wall bracket | Stubbs Jump Cups Barrel JS33 (pair & wall bracket) | £38.81 | Low-profile hook-on, slide-off bracket in bright zinc-plated steel |
| Raised poles, grids and gymnastics | Polepods (pack of 4) | £57.15 | Raises ground poles to one or two heights, suits most surfaces, maintenance free |
| Lifting trotting poles to the height you choose | Horsemen's Pride Rail Razer (4 pack) | £37.90 | Interlocking pieces, so the height is yours to set |
| Temporary stabling at a show | Premier Equine Team Stable Drape (navy) | £50.00 | Navy polyester drape for shade, privacy and a smart, uniform look |
What do you need to letter a dressage arena at home?
A 20m x 40m arena uses eight markers — A, K, E, H, C, M, B and F. A 20m x 60m arena adds R, S, V and P, which is why the Stubbs Hook On Markers ABCEFHKMRSVP set carries all twelve. If you only school in a small arena, a pack of self-adhesive letters at £7.20 does the same job for a fraction of the outlay, applied to clean boards, posts or a wall.
Do the letters have to be in exact positions?
For schooling at home, close enough is fine — the point is a consistent reference so your circles and transitions land in the same place each time. If you are practising for affiliated competition, measure the spacings properly so the shapes you ride at home match the ones you ride at a venue.
Which jump cups fit your wings?
Cups are matched to the wing, not to the horse. Stubbs size their pinned cups by the thickness of the wing upright: the heavy-duty steel JS40 suits 7cm uprights, while the lighter plastic-coated JS42 suits 6cm uprights. So the check to make before ordering is the thickness of the uprights on the wings you already own. Cups are sold in pairs because a pole needs one at each end.
What is the difference between pole cups and flat cups?
Pole cups are curved to cradle a round pole. Flat or shallow patterns are made for planks and gates, where the timber sits differently. Buying the wrong shape is the most common reason a pole will not sit level, so match the cup to the timber you actually jump.
How do you use Polepods for pole work?
Polepods sit under the ends of a pole to lift it off the surface, raising ground poles to one or two heights. A pack of four covers two raised poles. They suit most surfaces and are maintenance free, so they can live outside between sessions. Start low, keep the distances even, and build up gradually — raised pole work asks more of a horse than flat poles do, so it suits a horse already in steady work. If your horse is coming back from time off or has any soundness concern, speak to your vet or physio before adding raised work.
Polepods or the Rail Razer for raising poles?
Both lift poles off the ground, but they go about it differently. Polepods raise a ground pole to one of two set heights and need no maintenance. The Horsemen's Pride Rail Razer is a lightweight trotting pole lifter built from interlocking pieces, so you stack up to the height you want rather than choosing from fixed positions. It is listed at roughly 50cm x 18cm x 14cm and 794g, which makes it easy to carry out to a field and adjust between exercises.
Horse arena equipment: your questions answered
How many dressage letters do I need?
Eight letters — A, K, E, H, C, M, B and F — cover a 20m x 40m arena. A 20m x 60m arena needs twelve, adding R, S, V and P. The Shires Self-Adhesive Dressage Letters pack (£7.20) and the Stubbs Hook On Markers Letters ABCEFHKMRSVP set (S66H, £112.27) both give you twelve.
Will self-adhesive dressage letters survive outdoors?
They hold best on a surface that is clean, dry and smooth, such as painted arena boards or a wall. On rough, damp or dirty timber the bond is weaker and they may lift in wet weather. For a permanent outdoor arena the steel hook-on markers are the more durable choice: they hook on without screwing and are weighty enough to stay put in wind.
Will Stubbs jump cups fit my existing wings?
Stubbs size their pinned cups by upright thickness. The heavy-duty JS40 pole cup suits 7cm uprights and the plastic-coated JS42 suits 6cm uprights, so measure the thickness of your wing uprights before ordering. If you are unsure, get in touch and our team will help you match a cup to your wings.
Are jump cups sold singly or in pairs?
In pairs, because each pole needs a cup at both ends. A four-fence course of single poles therefore needs four pairs. The plastic-coated Stubbs JS42 is £13.76 a pair and the heavy-duty JS40 is £22.54 a pair.
How many Polepods do I need?
Polepods come in packs of four (£57.15), which raises two poles at both ends to one of two heights. Riders building a grid usually run two packs so they can raise a line of three or four poles evenly. Blue and red are in stock.
Is delivery free on arena equipment?
UK delivery is free on orders over £50, which a pack of Polepods at £57.15 or the full hook-on letter set at £112.27 clears on its own. Smaller items such as the £5.40 test board are easy to combine into one order. Everything is covered by 90-day returns.
Free UK delivery over £50 · 90-day returns · Expert help
Last reviewed 2026-07-26 by the Just Horse Riders team.