EMBARRASS — With the decision to have the Embarrass Region Community Association (fair board) take ownership of the horse arena on the fairgrounds last year, planning is now underway to improve the arena. The horse arena is used by the Northwoods Saddle Club as well as for Embarrass-Fair-sponsored events, and it is available to be rented for other horse- and farm-related events.
But the biggest change ahead is a plan to move the arena from the east end of the fairgrounds to the west end, which is the site formerly occupied by the mud run.
“The board has voted to approve moving the arena,” said chair Sarah Wallert-Ramponi, who noted the board is also excited that the move could open up the location for other outdoor events, such as concerts.
“In our opinion,” she said, “it is a better use of that space.”
The timing of the move is still up in the air, but the earliest it could move would be late summer.
Carl Peterson, who chairs the fair association’s arena committee, said they have held a series of meetings with the saddle club, as well as fair board members, to discuss future plans for the arena.
Wallert-Ramponi said the arena committee has been very involved and has been adding new members.
“There is a lot of excitement,” she said.
Saddle club members approved selling the arena equipment and fencing to the fair board last fall, but the decision came after some contentious meetings with the fair board and threats to move the arena to Babbitt. Club members did eventually vote to sell the equipment to the fair board. The agreement calls for the club to have free use of the arena for the next five years for their play days and other scheduled events.
While the fair association owns the land, they did not own the arena panels and related structures. The saddle club is maintaining ownership of the announcing booth, horse jumps and other games equipment, and the bleachers. The fair board has plans to build similar structures at the new site, though bleachers and an announcing stand are already in place.
Having all the ownership under the fair association makes it possible to apply for grants, as well as simplifying insurance requirements.
The fair board did take down the arena panels this fall, but mostly, Peterson said, that was to allow for improvements to the arena grounds next spring. Tentative plans are to rework the ground in the arena, possibly make it wider, and to reinstall the panels for the start of the saddle club’s horse play dates in June.
“This will get the arena looking nicer,” he said, “and it will be a better facility than last year.”
Peterson, who is from Embarrass but spent a lot of his working life in western Minnesota and North Dakota before moving back to Embarrass, has a lot of experience putting on horse shows and events.
“I have a lot of real-world experience with this,” he said.
Peterson said plans to expand the size of the arena to 150-feet wide to accommodate more events, such as barrel racing, meant the group had to take a serious look at moving the location of the arena on Timber Hall grounds.
“The size of the new arena would exceed the space,” he said. “It would take up too much of the parking area.”
Peterson said that by mapping out space on an aerial photograph of the fairgrounds, it became evident that the former mud run area, on the far western end of the property, would have enough room for the expanded arena size, parking, bleachers, and other infrastructure. The area already has electricity, but they would need to bring in a water line.
Peterson knows that this change might upset some people.
“I do know some mud run people are mad,” he said. “The mud run has been around for many years. It used to be a big thing.”
The mud run used to attract hundreds and hundreds of spectators watching as rigged-up trucks attempted to speed through a muddy track.
The mud run was not part of the fair in 2025, and the fair board did not find anyone willing to chair the event for this year, so it will not be part of the fair again in 2026. Ramponi said there were some individuals who talked about restarting the mud run, but they were not willing to go through the process of having it organized as a fair-sponsored event. The fair board also noted that the mud run area was using a large portion of the fairgrounds for an event that only happened on one day, as opposed to the horse events, which are scheduled throughout the summer and fall, as well as being part of the fair.
The board is looking at some other ideas to expand fair events, including a proposal for a mini mud run for ATVs, as well as lawnmower races.

Change is coming
“We have lots of people rooted in the current system,” Peterson said, “and they don’t like change.”
Peterson said his goal is to make sure everyone involved in the horse community in the area feels good at the end of this process.
“Our goal is to resolve all the issues,” he said. “I am pretty optimistic we can do that.”
Peterson said there is a slight chance it could still happen this summer, in time for this year’s fair.
“I’m pushing on everybody,” he said.
Peterson is currently seeking business sponsorships to help with the costs of moving the arena and setting up the new infrastructure. The fair board has also been seeking grants for arena improvements. He said a goal would be to get lighting at the arena, so events could be held in the evenings.
Peterson said he doesn’t have any cost estimates yet, but he said the costs of the associated infrastructure will be higher than the costs of purchasing new arena panels.
Wallert-Ramponi said the fair board is looking into some grant opportunities to help with the arena improvements and is currently working on some options with their grant writer.