Parelli Center

The Building of the Future That's Here Today

Pat Parelli, world-renowned natural horseman, has traveled the world and has the resources to build any kind of indoor riding arena on his magnificent ranch in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. After careful consideration, Linda and Pat Parelli chose a fabric covered building.

The 110' wide x 160' long fabric covered building at the Parelli Center in Colorado plays an important role in the Parelli business. Throughout the spring, summer and early fall, people from all over the world travel to the Parelli Center to learn how to experience a better relationship with their horse. The seminars are hosted by Linda and Pat Parelli along with their top students and endorsed instructors. On a typical day, two different courses may be held simultaneously in the fabric building. The Parelli Center has been accredited by the State of Colorado.

"Did I mention how great the acoustics are?" asks Pat. "It's amazing how the shape of the building and material allow the sound to be clear and crisp; communication is something that we're all about - human to horse and human to human. I've always disliked metal and wood coverings for arenas. There's nothing worse than the rain pounding on the roof during a rainstorm, especially when you're either training or trying to conduct a seminar," says Pat.

"The building is light and airy, not dark and gloomy like other arenas," adds Linda. "From a teaching perspective, the acoustics are very good. There is no echo and our voices carry really nicely. And you don't need lights in a fabric building unless you are going to be riding at night. They are the nicest arenas to have."

The Parelli's are also impressed with the temperature moderation aspect of their fabric covered  building. "The fabric building is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This ability to adapt to temperatures is really important, especially if you get great variances in seasons like we do in Colorado. It provides perfect protection from the wind, and the snow just slides off in the winter. We knew the buildings would hold up because they are made in Canada - 'snow country'."

Everyone at the Parelli Center is thrilled with the benefits the fabric covered building is providing to their programs. "This is what I call 'my office', so when it came to finding a special place for my special horses, I could not think of a better product than a fabric covered," says Pat. "It serves every purpose and everything that is congruent with my passion."

"This is what I call 'my office', so when it came to finding a special place for my special horses, I could not think of a better product than a fabric building. It serves every purpose and everything that is congruent with my passion."

Pat Parelli

Parelli Center - 110' W  x 160' L  Fabric Covered Building

The clear span, steel truss, fabric covered building seats

up to 2500 people during an ISC conference.

Linda Parelli - human to horse and human to human communication.

The acoustical qualities of the fabric covered building

allows for clear, crisp communication.

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  Thunderbird Show Park

Fabric Covered Building Top Choice

for Equine Show Park

The Thunderbird Show Park is an 85-acre horse show facility centrally located in the heart of the Fraser Valley, just 45 minutes east of Vancouver. The park holds five major Hunter & Jumper show tournaments a year and hosts a variety of different equestrian events and shows. The  facilities  at the year-round park include three fabric covered steel truss buildings used for stabling, a warm up arena and stalls, with plans for another fabric building for manure storage. "Our tournaments attract the best riders in the world with horses valued well over one and two million dollars," says Chris Pack, manager of operations and tournaments. "When those riders come, we need to take good care of them. So that's why we like to put them in preference stabling and we give them preferential treatment. This year we have stabled all our international riders in our new fabric covered building."

During the shows, the park is packed with around 800 horses and the arena can stable up to 120 horses. "Our fabric building is the ideal place for people, they actually request to be stabled in the peaked fabric covered building because of the feel and the coolness during the hot summer months," says Pack. "And the open air is just exactly what they like to ride in. The horses don't spook in it and it's just their preference on the property." In August, the horse park has two nationally televised Grand Prix shows on TSN – one being The Keg Steakhouse and Bar $50,000 Grand Prix. George Tidbull, founder and one of the partners of the Thunderbird Show Park is the owner of The Keg restaurant chain.

Even though the park has a large steel structure, it continues to use the fabric covered buildings year-round. "It's a lot more feasible as far as lights are concerned and it just comes down to cost per square foot and the feedback we've had from our other fabric covered buildings," says Pack. "It's been foggy, rainy, and quite dark for the past week and we still don't need to put any lights on. It lets in so much natural light, visitors can't believe it. We only have 3 lights in this whole building, because that's all it needs to light it up. It's great because the lights actually reflect off the fabric and it's a lot more condensed light than in a steel building where you seem to lose light and there are so many dark spaces. Whereas this building, because of the pitched roof, the frame and the shape of it, it's perfect."

The fabric covered building technology has provided many further advantages to Thunderbird Show Park – from the temperature moderation, to the footing, and the sound. "From the cool temperature to the height of the roof, these features allow the horses to not feel claustrophobic in this arena," shares Pack. "There's always a nice breeze running through it and we've installed vents as well to keep the air circulating. It doesn't get hot in here like it does in a steel building where the heat seems to radiate on people and it really cooks them. And we've found with these fabric buildings that the moisture stays in the footing. So it's a lot less time needed to maintain the footing in these arenas. Another great feature about the fabric covered building is the sound. We only have 4 speakers in this entire building, and there is no echo, and these are very key for us during our horse shows."

When people ask Thunderbird why they have repeatedly chosen fabric covered buildings as their equine building of choice, they always have the same answer. "Basically it comes down to feedback from the riders, feedback from people stabled here and total cost," concludes Pack. "They're the most cost effective building out there right now and that's why we keep adding more, because there are no drawbacks to the cost effectiveness."

Two of the fabric buildings at
Thunderbird Show Park.
 

"They're the most cost effective building out there right now and that's why we keep adding more, because there are no drawbacks to the cost effectiveness," says Chris Pack.
 

In August, the horse park has two nationally
televised Grand Prix shows on TSN.

During competitions, athletes request to be
stabled in the fabric covered arenas.
 

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Brooklyn Stables
Location: Kelowna, BC Building Size: 70' W x 260' L Application: Riding Arena with Stables
An Equestrian Arena and Stables Dream The Brooklyn Stables equine training facility, including an 18,200 square foot fabric covered arena, has attracted the interest of hunter/jumper enthusiasts throughout their region and beyond. Suzanne Cullen and her husband Sean Carroll are pursuing their dream with the development of their commercial equine facility. "Our reason for creating a training facility was based on our personal interests as well as identifying a demand in the local riding community," says Cullen. "Our first major step was the purchase of a 20 acre site on the outskirts of Kelowna. From a business point of view the location was a good investment and the area required minimal site prep which is important when you live a mountainous province like British Columbia," says Cullen. Cullen is a hunter/jumper amateur competitor and has competed in the A-Circuit for more than 20 years throughout Washington, California, Alberta and BC. "We compete against an elite group of hunter/jumpers. There is no time-off in this sport," says Cullen. "Both horse and rider need to be mentally and physically focused to be successful. Over the years, we’ve trained in every type of indoor arena you could imagine, so when it came time to constructing our own indoor arena, we knew what we wanted." "After doing some research and having the opportunity to train and compete in numerous riding arena’s during our travels, the indoor riding arena we decided to purchase was a fabric covered building. It’s an arena that we want every horse enthusiast to see and experience." Suzanne Cullen The indoor riding arena that was constructed on the Brooklyn Stables site is a 70 foot wide by 260 foot long fabric building. “In years past we’ve trained in several fabric buildings at various stables and horse shows like Spruce Meadows and Thunderbird Show Park. A fabric building was recommended by several other people in the industry,” says Cullen. “We chose a fabric building for two reasons; first, we love the brightness inside the building, the interior environment is natural to both horse and rider. Our second reason was that the cost of the structure was less expensive than a metal or wood building. How can you go wrong with a building that creates a better atmosphere for horse and rider and is less expensive,” says Cullen. The present use for the 70 foot by 260 foot fabric building is stabling and training but eventually Cullen hopes to build a much larger fabric building training arena and use the existing fabric building as a warm-up arena. “For now, the results have been very positive. I’m able to train anytime and can schedule appointments without any weather concerns. The quality of our training has improved and we’ve been able to more easily retain our competitive edge. It’s been a good investment,” says Cullen. The dream of building a complete equine facility is becoming a reality with a fabric building!		The equine training facility at Brooklyn Stables includes a 70' wide x 260' long fabric covered arena.   "A fabric covered building was recommended by several other people in the industry," says Suzanne.   Box stalls are located at one end of the building.   Suzanne and Sean are pursuing their dream with the development of a commercial equestrian facility.
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