B&M Land Management, LLCStraight Line Services, Ruleville MS
662-719-7737Free estimate
Tracked skid steer with a full bucket beside a freshly graded dirt pad, fence and barns behind

Site & Arena Grading

Site and Arena Grading With a Track Loader

Pads and arenas graded flat with the track loader. Building sites, work yards and riding arenas across the Mississippi Delta.

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B&M Land Management

Site grading is shaping the ground so it is ready for what comes next. That might be a slab, a shop, a gravel work yard or a riding arena. We grade pads and arenas flat with the track loader, cutting high spots, filling low ones and shaping the edges so water has somewhere to go.

Arena grading is its own kind of work. A riding arena needs a firm, even base under the footing and a slight crown or fall so it drains after a rain. On Delta clay, which is slow to drain and soft when wet, that base and slope matter even more. We talk through the arena size, the use and the drainage before we start.

What the job covers

  • Building sites and pads graded flat
  • Horse and rodeo arena base grading
  • High spots cut, low spots filled
  • Fill hauled in when the site needs it
  • Edges shaped so water runs off
  • Track loader for grading and spreading
  • Free estimate after we talk it through

B&M Land Management · Ruleville, MS

Our photos
Worked-up field ground running to a tree line
Freshly graded ground smoothed out flat under a clear sky

On the job

Real machines. Real work.

Every photo here is from a B&M Land Management job. No stock pictures.

See all recent work
Big graded area with track marks running across it, ready for the next step
Big graded area with track marks running across it, ready for the next step
Large graded pad smoothed flat with trees around the edges
Large graded pad smoothed flat with trees around the edges
Track loader working along a cleared field edge
Track loader working along a cleared field edge
Gravel parking area spread and leveled beside a row of trucks
Gravel parking area spread and leveled beside a row of trucks
Overgrown corner lot from above before clearing
Overgrown corner lot from above before clearing
Cleared and graded ground with the big trees left standing around the edges
Cleared and graded ground with the big trees left standing around the edges
Drone view of the same site cleared and graded clean around the slab
Drone view of the same site cleared and graded clean around the slab
Drone view of cleared strips and an open field cut into dense green woods
Drone view of cleared strips and an open field cut into dense green woods
Backyard graded smooth beside a white house, with a laser level on a tripod
Backyard graded smooth beside a white house, with a laser level on a tripod
Drone view of an overgrown lot partway through clearing
Drone view of an overgrown lot partway through clearing
Drone view of shooting lanes cut through pines meeting at one spot
Drone view of shooting lanes cut through pines meeting at one spot
Drone view of a cleared rectangle in dense woods beside a thinned tract with trees left standing
Drone view of a cleared rectangle in dense woods beside a thinned tract with trees left standing

How site grading is done

The track loader does most of this work. We cut down the high spots and push that dirt into the low ones, then work the surface back and forth until it is flat and even. When there is not enough dirt on site to bring it up, fill comes in on the dump truck. The edges get shaped so the site sheds water.

Tracks matter here. A track loader spreads its weight and keeps pushing on soft ground better than a wheeled machine. Our job photos show a fresh pad beside the barns with the tracked skid steer next to it.

Drone view of downed trees and debris around an old concrete slab before cleanup
Drone view of downed trees and debris around an old concrete slab before cleanup.

Arena base and drainage

A good arena is built in layers: the existing ground, a firm compacted base, and the footing on top that horses actually work in. University of Kentucky guidance says the base is usually 6 to 8 inches thick and the footing 2 to 6 inches, depending on use. It suggests a crown of 1 to 2 percent so water runs off.

The crown or slope gets built into the base during the dirt work, not added later. The same guidance notes that clay-heavy soil compacts a lot under use, so the base needs to be right. Delta clay holds water and gets slick. Tell us what the arena is for, and ask your footing supplier what base they want under it.

What affects a grading job

Size is the starting point, then how far off level the ground is now. A site that is close to flat takes less work than one with a ditch running through it. If the site needs fill brought in, the amount and haul distance matter. If it has extra dirt, we need a place to put it.

Ground conditions decide timing. Heavy Delta clay is hard to grade when it is wet and can crack and harden when it dries out. Brush and stumps on the site need to come off first. Grading that disturbs an acre or more for construction can fall under an MDEQ stormwater permit, so check that early on bigger sites.

Finished lane under a hardwood canopy, brush cleared to the tree line
Finished lane under a hardwood canopy, brush cleared to the tree line.
Understory cleared out from under a stand of tall trees
Understory cleared out from under a stand of tall trees.

Who it is for

Horse owners putting in a riding arena or a round pen. Folks building a shop, barn or equipment shed who need the site flat first. Farms and businesses that want a level work yard or parking area. Anyone with a rough piece of ground that needs to be flat and dry before the next step.

If you need a pad raised up with fill for a house, see our pads and fill dirt page. If water standing on the site is the real problem, see grading and drainage. If the site becomes a paved parking lot, Straight Line Services, at the same phone number, can lay it out and stripe it.

Where we do it

Ruleville and the Delta

From the Memphis area down to Vicksburg and Jackson, between the river and the I-55 corridor.

Questions

Common questions

What slope should a riding arena have?

University of Kentucky guidance suggests a crown of 1 to 2 percent so water runs off the arena. The crown is built into the base during the dirt work. Talk with your footing supplier too, since some footings have their own base requirements.

What machine do you use to grade?

Pads and arenas are graded flat with our track loader. It cuts high spots, fills low ones and spreads fill. Tracks help it work on softer ground.

Can you grade when the ground is wet?

Heavy Delta clay is hard to grade well when it is wet. It sticks, ruts and does not pack right. We look at the ground and the weather and will tell you when it makes sense to wait for it to dry out.

Do you bring the arena footing too?

Tell us what you have in mind. Our part is the dirt work: clearing, grading, the base and the slope. Footing materials vary a lot by riding style, so it is worth talking through the whole plan with us and with your footing supplier.

Related work

Often done together

Large graded pad smoothed flat with trees around the edgesPads & Fill DirtFill brought in and dumped where the pad is going, then spread and shaped.DetailsOpen yard cleared and smoothed beside a metal shop buildingGrading & DrainageDirt shaped so water runs off, like a shoulder along a new concrete drive.DetailsDrone view of an overgrown lot partway through clearingLand ClearingWe clear lots and tracts out of thick timber and push the timber up in windrows.Details

Guides

Know what to ask before you call

All guides
Thick growth on a town lot from above, before the machines came inCost guide · LandWhat Drives Land Clearing CostThe real factors behind land clearing cost in the Delta: timber, wet clay, stumps, debris handling, timber sales and permits.Read the guideDrone view of clearing started inside thick timberGuide · LandMulching vs. Pushing TimberHow forestry mulching and pushing timber into windrows compare on Delta land, and when a tract needs some of each.Read the guideTop-down drone view of a freshly cleared lot in the woods, timber windrowed along the edgesRules guide · LandBurn Permits in MississippiMississippi Forestry Commission burn permits, MDEQ rules for land-clearing debris, and how county burn bans work.Read the guide

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  • Land clearing, dirt work and demo across the Delta
  • Parking lot striping in MS, LA, TN, AL and AR
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