SODA SPRINGS — Soda Springs resident Dawn Perkins used to travel to Pocatello to make use of an indoor horse arena during the winter months, but now that she has children, it’s too difficult for her to go that far. 

As a result, she has to stop working her four horses throughout the winter — like many other horse enthusiasts in the community. 

“We don’t have a public arena in town,” Perkins said, adding that Soda Springs is the first city she’s lived in that lacked that amenity. And she wants to do something about it. A committee comprised of horse enthusiasts, including Perkins, has been talking about building a local arena in recent years, and now members are ready to take the project to the next level. 

They met with the public on Monday night to discuss their plans and to recruit potential board members and other volunteers.

“(We’re looking for board members and people who are) willing to commit their time and energy and share the vision that an indoor facility is worthwhile,” said Soda Springs resident Terri Bergmeier, who also serves on the committee. 

Bengal Solutions, a business consultation group comprised of Idaho State University students, put together a feasibility study on the arena, Bergmeier said. They suggested the best option would be to build an indoor and outdoor arena, horse stables and other amenities, which would be large enough to draw equestrian events to town and give people in Caribou, Bear Lake and Franklin counties a place to exercise their horses year round.      

Bergmeier said they still have a lot of work to do to make that type of facility a reality, but they are hoping to organize a board and seek a nonprofit status in the near future. And she hopes people will get involved. 

“This is a big project for us to accomplish in this area,” Bergmeier said, adding that they haven’t selected a location yet or determined the exact cost. They have some rough estimates, which they aren’t releasing until they’re more concrete, but builders have also offered their equipment to help cut back on costs.

Both Bergmeier and Perkins believe the facility could play a valuable role in the area.  

“It would be a benefit to the community and the kids here,” Perkins said, adding that it would be nice to have more recreational facilities in town, particularly during the winter. 

Bergmeier agrees. She said there are a lot of horse enthusiasts in the area who simply take their horse’s shoes off when the snow starts to fall and wait until spring to start working them again. Others drive to Pocatello or Idaho Falls. 

Committee members believe a local arena would help keep that business in town and even boost the economy if they’re able to pull in large events. 

Bergmeier hopes people will get behind the project as they move forward. 

“I believe it’s going to bring the community together and the horse people together,” she said. “We’re going to come up with a wonderful facility that meets a lot of people’s needs.” 

For more information about the project, people can email indoorridingarena@gmail.com.