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We regret to inform you that Hafod Arena will be closing in the near future. The viability of the equine rescue has resulted in this difficult decision. Unfortunately, the arena was not the fundraising facility that we had hoped it would be and as NCAR is a charity, the trustees have a responsibility to manage resources responsibly. We would like to thank everyone who has supported this venture.
All arena bookings will remain available until a sale has been agreed for Hafod Arena/Barn. By honoring these bookings and future bookings until this time, we aim to generate funds for our charity and prevent the arena from remaining unused, considering it is a fantastic facility.
The charity will actively encourage potential buyers to utilise the centre as a business, and we hope that our valued customers will have the opportunity to continue using the facility in the future once it has been sold.
The horse charity side of NCAR will continue but the horse and ponies will be relocated to our other site and be taken care of and will still be available for adoption.
It is important to note that these changes have had an impact on the on-site staff. We kindly request that you direct any questions or concerns to the management team at NCAR – nickyowen@ncar.org.uk . This is a sensitive time for the staff, and your understanding is greatly appreciated.
We deeply regret any inconvenience caused by this decision and appreciate your continued support.
Please note this does not affect North Clwyd Animal Rescue, Trelogan in anyway.
We will continue to rescue Ponies and horses at the rescue in Trelogan and rehome them from here.
Hafod Arena is our fantastic purpose built indoor arena which is available for hire and helps to fund our horse and pony rescue work. All income from the hire of the arena and facilities helps to rescue equines in need of a new home.
The arena is 20m x 60m and has an Andrews Bowen waxed surface, suitable for all equestrian activities.
When Doris Maud Wells-Kendrew, ‘Dee’ to her friends, died, she left her estate to North Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR). She had never visited the rescue or met any of the staff but she trusted that her amazing donation would be used as she wished.
Dee loved animals but particularly horses, and we felt that the spirit of the donation was such that it should be used to improve the lives of horses. The entire estate was in a rather sad state of decline with both the buildings and land needing considerable work doing to them.
Most people felt that, although the place had potential, that it was probably a step too far to take it on as a project. It needed vision to see what was possible and motivation to fulfil the wishes of our benefactor. The aim was to refurbish an existing indoor riding arena and to get it to a standard that it could be rented out as a source of income to then fund a horse and donkey rescue centre on site.
The project would clearly be a long term one, but plague (Covid) and flood (the bridge collapse at Llanerch) made it all the harder. The first task was to clear an access to the back of the property and scrape almost twenty years of grass and soil off a hardcore carpark.
You can see photos of the hard work that went into creating the arena here
Next was to burn several stables worth of ragwort that had been accumulated. The land had to be cleared of the dreaded weed to enable our first crop of hay. The indoor arena had a solid roof but that was about all that was going for it. It had been used to shelter horses, store cars and lorries and generally be a dumping ground.
All the smashed plastic sheeting below the roof was replaced with smart Yorkshire boarding, the doors were able to slide again and the building painted. Tons of soil had to be cleared from the side of the building to drop the ground level by six feet. Old fibre cement sheets were replaced with modern steel and the whole of the gable end was replaced.
As the gable end had to be removed, this seemed like the ideal opportunity to extend the building and create a full 60 x 20 metre working area. The dreaded planning application was now needed to enable us to proceed. Electricity had to be upgraded and a huge drainage project undertaken to prevent us creating a mini Venice of canals all around the building.
As Covid took hold and building work took a back seat the land was cleared and tidied, and years of accumulated rubbish disposed of. Pipes and drains were installed and the swampland that had once surrounded us began to drain. We discovered new paths and tracks and began to really appreciate the beauty of the land that we had inherited.
A long process of clearing abandoned vehicles from the indoor arena, removing old hayracks and feed boxes from the walls and sorting generations of rubbish took considerable time and effort.
The resumption of building work brought the realisation that the land for the extension was not exactly flat and that over 400 tons of hardcore would be needed to level the metre fall from one side to the other.
Many loads of stone and days with the digger later, the site was levelled and extension building commenced. Lockdown, Brexit, the blocked Suez Canal, Llanerch bridge and a lack of synchronisation between what was happening in Wales and England made for costly delays and the price of steel and timber both rocketed.
Finally the extension was up and the arena was beginning to take shape. Lots more hardcore and plannings , kickboards and blocking then 276 tons of sand and the arena surface was in place. New lighting and the arena really started to look the part. From a tatty storage area to top quality equestrian facility.
This stunning facility now has the potential to provide the income stream needed to fund our animal sanctuary and bring Dee’s dreams to reality.
