BHS Exams?

laceyfreckle

laceyfreckle

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2007
9,701
42
48
Essex/Suffolk
Do you need to do the training for stage 1 and stage 2 at a centre or can you learn it through practise at home and working through the books they do for each stage?

If its preferable to train somewhere then is there anywhere (near Essex/suffolk) that will do that part time or full time but not as a working pupil (unless they take a working pupil who is well over 18 lol and preferably not more then 16hrs a week)

Are the jumps in stage 2 up to height generally (says on the BHS jumps will be 2'3 max) I assume you have to jump if you want to do the riding section? I'm also assuming the horse you jump are fairly big (because 2'3 looks fairly big on a 13.2hh:p) and happy to jump that height normally fairly easily? I don't think 2'3 is out of my scope but I've noticed they're a lot bigger in the stage 3 :eek:

I'm assuming that if you wanted to run/manage a riding school/full & part livery situation it would be preferable to have BHS qualifications?
 
Yes would be preferable to have qualifications & be BHS registered.When I did my stage two 40 yrs ago we had to jump & jumps were full up,pony I rode was 14hh so not certain to get a horse.Wouldn't think things had changed that much,go for it but go to a good BHS reg school.
 
It is perfectly possible to study at home for BHS exams, I did all the care ones that way, but I think it is essential to ride a wide variety of exam type horses and to have instruction from someone used to preparing candidates to set the standard you need to achieve,

Exam horses are supposed to be over 15hh and yes the jumping courses will be up to height and technical (it is 2'6" for Stage 2). Before being allowed to jump the course you need to pass the flat work and jump a grid to the required standard. On the course you will be expected to keep the horse in a good rythm and balanced and deal with any issues effectively. The best preparation is competing a lot and riding as many horses as possible...even the ones you don't enjoy will teach you a lot.

Try Writtle College for parttime courses?
 
Thanks for all the advice :)

I have contacted Writtle College and asked for a prospectus and I will also ask Runningwell the cost and how their BHS training works.

I think I'm happy enough to learn the care side at home (at least for stage 1 anyway) but I think eml is right and it would be better to have some tuition on the riding side and to ride some different horses as well. (I LOVE riding different types of horses anyway, so I will enjoy that!:))

I don't compete a awful lot at the moment but can change that especially as Harvey is more then capable of jumping a decent course if I can learn to ride him round one properly. Am hoping to do some dressage this year as well as our normal local level showing.

At least you didn't all go "oooh no, you'll never manage to do them lol:p"

I would like to do the stages fo rmy own satisfaction but also for my (and hubby's) long term plans. I am a business person at heart and would love to run a successful riding school/full & part livery yard. Obvouisly this is a pipeline dream at the moment and will need a fair bit of work to make it happen but what's life for if it isn't for stretching yourself :D
 
I have taught a number of people who have set up livery yards and are working between family commitments for exams. It is not as easy as when you are 16-20 so be prepared for it to take a while.

As far as running a RS goes the most important part is your ability to teach and run a business. When I set mine up I spent a lot of time going to different RS and holiday centres as a customer to see what they did, how I liked it and how I could do it better. You can combine this with training for exams. I was already well versed in business running but this is where a lot of great riders/teachers fall down. I also sent my daughter to work in apparently succesful yards to get the inside picture and we developed a lot of 'how to' and 'how not to' ideas.
 
eml said:
I have taught a number of people who have set up livery yards and are working between family commitments for exams. It is not as easy as when you are 16-20 so be prepared for it to take a while.

As far as running a RS goes the most important part is your ability to teach and run a business. When I set mine up I spent a lot of time going to different RS and holiday centres as a customer to see what they did, how I liked it and how I could do it better. You can combine this with training for exams. I was already well versed in business running but this is where a lot of great riders/teachers fall down. I also sent my daughter to work in apparently succesful yards to get the inside picture and we developed a lot of 'how to' and 'how not to' ideas.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice. Yes completely understand it's not going to be as easy as if I was younger.

Running a business is really my area of forte I suppose. My only problem is I tend to get rather 'involved' and sometimes don't know when to stop working. I have set up, owned and managed two successful falconry companies in the past which I only stopped doing because of family commitments due to a breakdown of my relationship at the time. (ex) Partner was the falconer/austringer who taught me how to manage birds of prey and I taught him the business side of things.

My husband is self employed and has his own building and electrics company. I helped in the very early stages and still do the books for it but otherwise leave that for hubby to do himself (I got told I was taking over!)

I also worked at a local riding school (BHS approved) after I had my first child. As a teenager I worked weekends and school holidays on a livery and dealer yard. I learnt to ride as a young child at a fabulous (but not local) riding school and I would love to be able to bring back the essence of that to others. We learnt a lot because everything was such good fun! (and looking back with excellent standard of tuition too)

I do currently run Quantum Savvy Natural Horsemanship clinics (hire out a local equestrian centre's indoor school) for the Essex and Suffolk Practise Group and really enjoy the mix of people and finding different ways to help them expand themselves.

ooh sneaky about sending your daughter in to do your market research but good work lol!! Checking out local establishments will of course be one of the top things to research. (sometimes its very handy having children!) Combining visiting schools with BHS training is a very good idea too.

I have discussed our plan at length with OH and he is happy/pleased to look into changing our lifestyle etc as I have stressed to him that it will be a lifestyle change probably more so then a 'career change'. It is helpful to have someone on side who is also rather handy at maintenence and building though :)

I have a feeling it is the finance side of things that is going to take time to go through (and of course the business plan to complete). To make it more then a dream we will have to move to a property (of sorts) with enough acerage to suffice which will mean selling our current house and possibly finding a business loan/way of raising other money as well.
 
You could try Otley College too as they do horse courses. I will have a look for you as they are partnered to the institution i work for but their college bit is seperate.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back