ArenaGreen Footing, an environmentally safe, dust-free and waterless footing product by Wellington-based ArenaMend LLC, is one stride closer to the finals in the worldwide Global Water Partnership’s Water ChangeMaker Awards, presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, later this year.
“We’re really excited that our private organization has made the second cut,” said Alex Carr, environmental specialist for the company.
Carr, whose extensive environmental training here and overseas includes studying water quality in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and elephant conservation, eco-tourism and coral reef degradation in Thailand, had been following the GWP (Global Water Partnership) for several years when she saw the Water Change Maker Awards initiative announced on World Water Day, March 22.
“I thought we’d be a great fit because we save millions of gallons a year in water and, so far, that hasn’t been effectively done in the horse industry,” Carr said. “We’re not only trying to promote a greener product, we’re trying to make a change in the equestrian industry.”
Carr, who grew up in Wellington, said a high school science project — converting cooking oil into biodiesel — taught her how one of the byproducts, glycerin, is a natural dust suppressant. “So, I called my dad and suggested adding it in arenas,” she said. “That sparked the idea for a waterless, dust-free footing that’s environmentally safe.”
Carr and her father haven’t been the only ones who have liked the idea. ArenaGreen Footing made the second cut in the Water ChangeMaker Awards 2020 and is already being recognized as part of a vibrant community of environmental and water champions.
ArenaGreen Footing now faces the semifinals, and the hope of an invitation to join this year’s Alumni Group of Water ChangeMaker finalists or Hall of Fame winners. Each finalist will be invited to the UN Climate Change Conference.
“If you make the finals, you join a network of worldwide water initiatives. It would be amazing to get European recognition, because Europe is more advanced in water regulation than the United States. There’s still a lot of change that has to take place in our horse industry, between high levels of emissions from transporting horses, to more recycling at horse shows and better water conservation,” Carr explained.
The sustainability of ArenaGreen is enhanced by the fact that it can be consistently produced anywhere in the world. ArenaMend LLC has 10 manufacturing sites across France, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Denmark and five in the United States.
The revolutionary horse footing is unparalleled in eco-responsibility and requires no watering, Carr said, adding that it is the only footing that delivers a consistently effective performance surface that can be maintained with or without water, making it an ideal choice for arid and tropical climates. ArenaGreen has been installed at the Palm Beach Masters Series CSI5* and CSI2* at Deeridge Farm and is the preferred footing of Olympic show jumping gold medalist Ben Maher. The North American Riders Group (NARG) gave ArenaGreen its highest U.S. score on its Winter Sports rankings.
Learn more and follow ArenaGreen in the Water ChangeMaker Awards at www.arenamend.com.
