bhs/horsy exam experiences

[belle]

I am thinking of taking my bhs exams, but recently on the bhs website forum there have been loads of horror stories about the horses you ride etc.

I just wondered if you took the exams, what were the horses like that you rode, was the exam difficult etc?

Thanks in advance!:D

[Wally]

Err.. the horse I rode when I did the Jumping on stage 2 fell over...right over, not just a stumble, roly poly, legs in the air, dying fly - fell over!:eek: :eek: Then they said I didn't ride him forward enough, okay I passed, but would you ride something which had fallen over, due to lack of interest, full pelt at a course of jumps without a bit of reservation?;)

It really depends upon the place you take youe exams. Some places have some good horses...some have some horses in NEED of schooling let alone capable of taking students through an exam.

The one I did my flat work exam on was a poppet...17 hands though. The lasses who worked there told me to give him a good wallop to get him going because he was lazy....I thought he was a gentleman, it is all in the interpretation of the horse by the rider. If they are an aggressive rider they will bring out the worst in a horse.

I wouldn't mind but I wasn't being aggressive with the one which fell over with me... I thought I was being quite kind to him.

The horse I was given to lunge was KNACKERED, I refused to lunge him...so probably got a name for being a poo stirrer. He was SO tired, so uninterested that I refused to put him through another lunge assessment. he had done every stage 2 lungeing all day. Just not fair on the poor guy. I actually got better marks for lungeing than I expected, but I would have happily failed rather than be party to putting that poor boy through yet another lunge session.

[cvb]

*** my exams at Wellington but such a long time ago that I guess none of the horses will be the same.

For all stages the horses were 'fair', though there were some we knew were tougher.

[belle]

My local college does the stage 1 exam, but I dont think that they are suitable, they normally end up borrowing horses from other nearby yards. The college horses most definetely need schooling, they can barely do a prelim test or a 2ft course of jumps!:eek:

[nix]

Hi Belle,

BHS exam centres, like the rest of their approved riding schools, unfortunately vary greatly in quality. If you decide to take exams check out the ones within reasonable travelling distance.

For example, there's an exam centre 10 mins drive away from me but knowing what I do about the place I've taken my exams so far at one nearly 70 miles away!!!!

A few reasons why I won't use the local exam centre:

the last riding and road safety test was such a fiasco as NOT ONE of their horses is traffic proof (one of the horses galloped home with one poor candidate when it saw a van), half the tack was deemed unsafe by the examiner - they are no longer allowed to even offer the exam now;

the majority of their stage two and three horses are unsafe to jump - they either put in dirty stops or become uncontrollable when put in front of a jump (one actually tried to run backwards at a jump!) and some of the candidates have had some really nasty falls;

it is actually encouraged to "beat the horse up a bit" out of view of the examiners, of course :mad: , to "get them listening to you".

Why can't something be done about these awful places :mad: .

Nix

P.S. None of the above is hearsay ... I used to help out at the place, but couldn't take it any longer and nothing I could do was helping the poor horses - most of whom also had poorly fitting tack, untreated sore backs etc etc.

[FRED]

Belle, good luck, I can't offer advice as where best to ride, sorry.
I had to reply after reading Nix post.

I haven't read the stories on BHS forum Nix, but I do seriously wonder whats going on, last year I was visiting someone in hospital after ridding accident.In the hospital were 6 riders all with broken limbs from ridding school accident, one girl had broken back and leg age under 10yrs old.Only one of these accidents happened outside normal aproved school environement, she had badly broken arm after fall during lunging lesson!??
Its apauling, and people say hacking is dangerous.I wrote to governemnt and another organisation who I have supported if only for their work on road safety and rescued horse, I have never even recieved a letter of courtesy from either. Something all to comon I find.
Two of my neice are at ridding school, one is no longer allowed to ridding lesson because her father found his 5 yrs old daughter in a stable playing with another youngster, there were two horse in stable and no one looking after the children who were supposed to be having a lesson.
Last week in a group lesson my other neice saw a young rider fall 3 times atempting canter, the senior instructors have the highest qualifications and some are members of a verey exclusive club. You would think after two falls they would call it a day for the young rider, but no! you have to push and push the limits according to these guys.
Im in total agreement that something needs to be done about these places.At the trekking centre where I ride, if a rider fell at walk,trot or canter the ride is stopped and not until absolutely certain that the fallen rider does not need medical atention can they continue,If you fell two times I doubt the staff would let you continue. People say children bounce better, they ought to checkout hospital wards! Sorry this is long and a bit of topic, but its nice to see some one else cares about what is happening at some ridding school to their riders.

Fred.

[belle]

My local college also gives lessons to the public on their horses, some of which a danger for the instructors to ride!!!

At the last Riding and Road safety test at the college, only 2 passed out of 16!!!

[Hareer]

Just like to say that I have taken exams at three different centres and all were wonderful experiences. Two were colleges where there horses were a real pleasure and one was a riding school where the horses were a bit stale and bored when on the flat but great when jumping. The college of West Anglia (Milton) where I took my stage two and three riding could not have been better in any way. The horses were enthusiastic and beautifully turned out and the staff were very friendly and helpful . It's a shame they don't do stage 4 examinations there!

[eml]

Hareer thanks for the info about West Anglia much appreciated because I have booked my daughter in there and no one seemed to know anything about it.She is doing the rest of her stages at Brampton where I have sent other people and have only had good reports

Like Wally I met the exhausted and bored lungehorse and the jumper that bucked if you were unfortunate enough to be examined in the outdoor school. I have also had the stiff as card board horse for flatwork and ride and lead with a patently lame horse. These were however many years ago and I think the criteria for exam centres is now much stricter. I did Stage 4 at Warwickshire which was a delight, super horses and really good equipment...examiners seemed less scarey too!.

[Hareer]

Just about to book my stage 4 so thanks for your opinion on Warwickshire, choices get more limited at this level and exams more expensive so all help gratefully received!!