Location: Langley, BC
Building Size: 72' x 210'; 72' x 72'; 100' x 200'
Application: Riding Arenas & Stabling Barn

Fabric Covered Building Top Choice for Equine Show Park

Two of the fabric buildings at
Thunderbird 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."

"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.