BHS Exams?

[brendanlindsay]

Hey everyone,

I'm really new to riding, I've only been on about six lessons now but i'm sure as many of you will understand, i'm totally addicted already. Anyway i know i'm probably a very long way off but i was wondering whats involved in the BHS level 1. I only ride for one half hour a lesson a week and i'd love to help out at a local yard to gain more experiance but i'm finding it rather hard to find anywhere that needs any help!

Would a person have to be riding a lot more often to take the exams of are they just based purely off riding and controling the horse also is it worthwhile? One day i'd love to own a horse and ride more so would the exams be proactive?

Any help would be gratefully recieved! also if anyone knows of anywhere that could use a hand please let me know, im in Lancs.

Brendan

[Laura+Phantom]

Well I had been riding for 12 years and failed the riding part :( You have to walk, trot and canter in the correct position whilst riding effectively and riding correct school figures (like circles, serpentines etc). Then you have to walk and trot without stirrups (passed that bit) and then walk and trot over some poles on the floor and ride around in a 2 point seat (forward seat).

It doesn't sound too bad but you have to do it in textbook style or they will fail you. I was failed for my forward seat and trotting with stirrups...I still don't understand what i did wrong!

They are good qualifications to have if you want to work in the horse industry or become an instructor, but the system is very rigid and not always very practical. An alternative to the BHS exams is ABRS exams - they seem a bit more down to earth, looking at what you can get out of a horse rather than how perfect your hand position is.

[bexj]

I'm about to take my stage 1 exam. You do have to be a reasonable rider, from what I can gather, and you would definitely need to be riding for longer than you are doing now. It's also about horse care, and whilst a lot of it you can pick up quickly, there is no substitute for hours spent with horses, in terms of how you handle them and how you can relate your experiences to the exam situation.

You can download a copy of the syllabus http://www.bhs.org.uk/DocFrame/DocView.asp?id=1219

and there are lots of books available too. You might also want to consider the Horse Owners Certificate which is much more aimed towards leisure horse owners, rather than professional exams.

There's no harm in having something to aim for though, whether you work in the industry or not