The National Equestrian Center is the Nation’s first-choice facility in the Midwest for prestigious, high-caliber competitions and events. Offering many luxury amenities and world class customer service, the NEC rests on 56 acres in the prestigious western suburbs of St. Louis. The facility offers over 207,000+ square feet of continuous under-roof arenas and stabling as well as 42,000 square feet of additional stabling in close proximity to all arenas and activity centers.
COMPETITION ARENAS
Each of NEC’s spacious indoor competition arenas is accompanied by a dedicated warm-up ring and offers exhibitors and participants the convenience and comfort of being connected to stabling barns with nearby access to café food and vendor shopping. NEC’s oversize outdoor arena allows ample space for both competition and warm-up while providing a beautifully scenic, park-like setting that invites unique tailgating opportunities for festive, social events held April to October. For smaller, more intimate activities, NEC is able to offer a more discreet riding and stabling space in its Clinicians’ Arena, also known as Barn Five.
The West Arena is NEC’s premier competition space with soaring rafters, broad concourses, permanent VIP boxes, grandstand seating and an overlooking banquet hall at its west end. Its clean color-palette and bright lighting lend to exquisite video and photography that make this arena ideal for documented, broadcasted and live-streamed events.
A generous 120’ x 240’ in size, West Arena’s adjoining warm-up is 100’ x 200’ and accommodates entrance and egress from multiple gate locations. Both arenas offer equines the benefits of world-class GGT™ Fiber Footing installed over GGT™ Butterfly Mats, and many riders report that it feels like “riding on a cloud.” The controlled indoor climate is supported by gas heating plus the recently added energy-efficient TPO roof as well as HVLS fans overhead and large-scale supply fans on exterior walls.
[Read More]Suitable for English, Western, Livestock, Ranch competitions and more, NEC’s East Arena offers maximum flexibility to meet the greatest variety of event needs. The largest of our indoor arenas, it provides more room for more riders, more horses, more carts, more jumps, more cattle, more trail obstacles, more everything. This 140′ x 225′ competition space and its adjoining 65′ x 80′ warm-up both contain fresh Eureka HG Sugar Sand atop a chat base that easily accommodates the differing footing demands of numerous showing and riding disciplines.
In 2019, NEC restored its cattle loading chute and installed semi-permanent holding and working pens just outside the East Warm-Up, making the delivery, use and departure of cattle far easier and efficient. In 2020, NEC added shade-cover over the cattle holding pens to shelter livestock from full-sun conditions. Finally, the East Arena’s south-side concourse now has increased grandstand seating for up to 350 people and provides more convenient access to the East Show Office as well as to food and drink in NEC’s newly re-opened Side Pass Standing Cafe.
[Read More]The NEC’s Outdoor Arena, lined by ornamental trees, is an impressive 240′ x 700′ in size, the near equivalent of four of our indoor arenas. For use as a whole, the Outdoor Arena can be sub-divided to meet the needs of specific events. Surrounded by 3′ white two-rail vinyl fence installed in spring 2020, its signature footing is blended, all-weather sand and limestone screenings capable of high performance under both wet and dry conditions. Six double-gated entrances, each 12′ wide, allow horses, equipment trailers and motorized vehicles including golf carts to enter and exit the arena easily. Exhibitors and guests will enjoy dedicated bridlepaths with golf cart accessibility as well as multiple shaded pavilions providing shade and shelter from the weather. Announcements will broadcast clearly through NEC’s advance-tech portable PA system operating with wireless microphones and reaching dual-zones for messaging into separate riding areas. Our two-way radio system enables barn calls to air remotely into all stabling barns on the property.
[Read More]NEC’s Barn Five has been transformed into NEC’s Clinician’s Arena. An intimate 75′ x 135′ riding barn, this arena is discreet, quiet, and tranquil with new LED shatter shield lighting and good quality footing comprised of local river-sand over a level chat base. Fully enclosed with gate-access on all sides, it is ideal for small group instruction, demonstration rides, one-on-one private lessons and other training/learning activities. In the barn remains six 10′ x 10′ permanent stalls where horses may acclimate to unfamiliar activity in a new environment or all clinic stabling can be arranged in adjoining Barn Four or neighboring Barn Six.
Organizers can choose to add limited bleacher seating, schooling equipment, food and beverage service, and other equipment and services to meet the needs of the event.
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