NEW BOLTON: An indoor arena for evaluating horses

On Nov. 4 New Bolton Center showed off its Ilona English Equine Performance Evaluation Facility as part of a lecture on equine sports medicine.
The 80-by-120-foot indoor arena, built by King Construction, is spectacular. Large windows line its two long sides, allowing tons of natural light in.
Top-level event rider Ryan Wood, on Powell, walked, trotted and cantered around the ring and went over a few jumps to demonstrate how quiet the MC Ecotrack footing is (it's a blend of wax-coated sand, fibers and rubber).
Ilona English, breeder and owner of Summit Sporthorses and Sportponies in Ringoes, NJ, was the major donor for the facility. She was on hand for the talk (in fact, she owns Powell) and said a few words about how important it was to have an evaluation facility like this where vets can put a horse through its paces no matter what the weather. According to New Bolton's website: "This world-class indoor arena provides the perfect environment for clinicians to conduct in-depth evaluations of horses for medical and performance issues, most commonly lameness."
The lecture was given by Elizabeth Davidson, an associate professor of sports medicine, and Liz Arbittier, staff veterinarian in the section of equine field service. It's always interesting to hear these articulate experts speak and to see their videos and images, especially when they present case studies and explain what steps they took to diagnose and treat their patient.