Paul Parker has owned three horse arenas through the years but his latest from National Stockyard Systems (NSS) has been “the best by far”.

“That’s chiefly for three reasons: flexibility, safety and aesthetics,” said Mr Parker.

His horse property, “Ranchwood Park”, covers about four hectares (10ac) at Summerland Point, adjacent to Lake Macquarie and about one hour south of Maitland. The most recent complex was installed about two years ago and has been put to good use, with Mr Parker utilising the arena up to three days a week.

He said when coming to choose NSS, he appreciated the company’s use of materials. “An important thing for us was to have an Australian product with Australian steel,” he said.

“We believed the steel looked the best aesthetically too, opposed to other materials. We also liked the safety factors, with the panels being bolted together for extra stability. The bolt together system eliminates rattle noise and the opportunity for a horse to get a cannon bone or pastern between the panels is eliminated. Pin together panels have been responsible for many broken legged horses over the years.”

Mr Parker said the ability to consult with the National Stockyard Systems founder Murray Schaefer, and the NSS team in terms of the design – and the ability to alter that design if needed – was an important consideration.

“Since we’ve had the system installed, we’ve made a number of alterations to suit our purposes, and the flexibility of the design has made it easy for us to do this,” Mr Parker said. In addition to hosting training days at his arena, Mr Parker and wife Sue also operate Impulse Print, which designs and prints the Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft and Rodeo Association (ABCRA) magazine.