ssociation of ritish Riding Schools Unit 8, ramble ill arm, ive Oaks Road, Slinfold, orsham, West Sussex R13 0RL Tel: 01403 790294 : ax: 01403 790547 : mail: office@abrs-info.org Initial Teaching ward Syllabus This is a foundation qualification showing the holder is capable of teaching basic levels in a Riding School. ontent of the xamination andidates must be able to demonstrate the required competences in the practical and theoretical areas identified below. 1. Teach a group of 4-6 pupils for approximately 45 inutes, showing progress and awareness of safety for both horses and riders 2. Teach a lunge lesson for approximately 20 minutes with a novice rider. 3. Give a lecture/demonstration, lasting 15 minutes, to a group of pupils (one subject to be chosen and prepared beforehand from any RS Progressive Stable anagement Tests 1-6). 4. Discussion and Theory Pre-requisites: andidates must be 17 years or over current irst id ertificate (inimum of a one day course) certificate of attendance at a Safeguarding and Protecting hildren Workshop. Riding & Road Safety ertificate Plus one of the following:- RS Progressive Rider Tests 6 (Stable anagement and quitation) and Lunge unit P plus a Lunge unit S Stage 2 NVQ Level 2 (Riding and orse are) R Level 3 (quitation and orse Welfare) plus RS Lunge unit National Diploma in orse Studies (inc Riding) Overseas or college equivalents of the above must include riding and lungeing RS Grooms ertificate or Grooms Diploma
General ompleted application forms, full payment and all relevant paperwork must arrive at the RS office not later than 4 weeks prior to the requested exam date. andidates are expected to arrive 30 minutes before the commencement of the examination; this is to have a briefing for the day and to read the rider registration forms relating to the clients they will be teaching the briefing will start at 08.30 sharp. andidates will be required to make their own arrangements for accommodation and food and bring to the examination riding clothes and any individual equipment they feel is necessary for the lecture/demonstration. The candidate s appearance will be taken into account. We do expect candidates to wear clean hacking jackets or smart riding wear. Shirts, ties and hard hats will be expected. s great emphasis is placed upon the candidate s ability to assess and teach appropriately unknown horses and riders, they may NOT be examined at a centre where they have worked or trained, unless they have been absent from that entre for at least 6 months. Lists of xamination entres and dates may be obtained from the RS website www.abrs-info.org or the xaminations Secretary at the RS Office. Results will not be available on the day of the examination but will be forwarded to the candidate as soon as possible thereafter. s moderators are required to see all candidate papers after the exam, results will take approximately 2 weeks. The examiners decision will be final. ancellation The fee, less an administration charge of 25% is returnable up to 4 weeks before the examination date. In the event of late notification of sickness/accident, accompanied by a Doctor s note, the fee may be held for a future examination date. The ssociation reserves the right to postpone/cancel examinations, giving at least 10 days notice to the candidate. In the event of the examination being cancelled/postponed, the fee may be held over to the next scheduled examination, or returned to the candidate. Please address all enquiries to the xaminations Secretary at the RS Office. (ll examination documentation is subject to alteration in line with government and employment regulations and employer requirements.) The Initial Teaching ward is a qualification in its own right. andidates achieving the ertificate will be entitled to show the letters RS IT after their names.
Guidance Notes The Initial Teaching ward exam is the first step on the ladder for people working in the horse industry who wish to gain teaching qualifications. The exam is focused on basic teaching techniques and the candidate must show the ability to teach the requirements of the syllabus in a safe, sympathetic and friendly manner. The guinea pigs used in the examination will be asked if they enjoyed the lesson and if they would return for another session. Safety is paramount and any slackness in the initial checking of horses and riders or the placing of them in potentially dangerous situations will be severely marked and may result in the exam being stopped. andidates will be expected to show consideration for the horses and riders used and emphasis must be placed on teaching good classical riding positions. 1) lass Lesson The candidate will have already had chance to read the rider s registration forms in order to assess the rider s strengths and weaknesses. fter safely mounting the ride, selecting a leading file and showing suitable warm up procedures for riders and horses the candidate may continue the lesson, but must show some Drill work and some of the exercises listed below. It is up to the candidate to teach what they see on the day and select suitable exercises. The exercises used must show good use of school figures, identify and correct rider s position, faults and improve their confidence and above all be safe. The examiner may question the candidate during or after the lesson to discuss the candidate s assessment and plans for progressing the ride. xamples of exercises that may be used:- asic school movements Sequence of footfalls in all gaits. Transitions Sitting and rising trot. ow to recognise and change diagonals. anter on a named leg. Simple changes of leg. Riding without stirrups in walk and trot asic jumping position
Introducing riders to ground poles Rest periods for horse and riders e.g. walking on a long rein, lining up and questioning Drill Riding:- asic drill riding is showing that the instructor has control over the class and is a great way to instill confidence in nervous riders. lear preliminary and executive commands are vital lear and concise explanations, keep it simple and controlled e.g. down the next long side whole ride prepare to turn across the school (prelim command) Whole ride turn now (exec command) and right/left on reaching the track This can be done at walk and it is not necessary to divide the ride into double rides as this could cause kicking problems. This could also be a useful exercise without stirrups if safe to do so. Please read the drill riding booklet for other ideas, but do please keep it uncomplicated. 2) Lunge Lesson The candidate will be examined on:- use of equipment safety checks lunging a horse without rider rider s position and balance supplying exercises winding down the lesson dismounting and preparing to return to stable. xperience has shown that the lunge section proves to be the weakest area and therefore we do strongly advise candidates to gain experience in lunging horses, and horses with riders on. 3) Lecture This should last approx. 15 minutes and should be prepared beforehand from any RS Progressive Stable anagement Tests 1 6. It is not permitted to read directly from notes and laptops, notes may be used for bullet points and aide memoire. xaminers may ask to have a copy of the candidate s notes. We encourage the use of hand outs, props and visual aids
4) Discussion andidates will be questioned on some of the following: Qualities of a good teacher/coach Sports Psychology: goal setting, motivating junior or adult riders Lesson plans for differing ability/age groups Day course plans for junior holiday courses Procedures for conducting hacks Special considerations when teaching children and older riders and riders with physical disabilities. The effects of weather conditions on the horses and riders when teaching ustomer are. asic riding school administration, rider registration forms, booking procedures Procedure in the event of an accident ny other relevant topic Suggested Reading:- RS Test Guidelines 1-10 + - 101 Riding xercises by aren ush and Julian arczak The Principles of Teaching Riding by aren ush and Julian arczak ost of IT xam 200.00
OW TO SLY ONDUT DRILL RID OR T IT X Drill riding must be safe interesting and enjoyable. Riders position must be observed and corrected when ever necessary. xplanation of the types of commands. Preliminary command explains the movement. e.g. Turn across the school as a ride xecutive command on which the ride acts. e.g. and turn In succession means one behind the other. e.g. in succession turn up the centre line to the whole ride would follow the leading file. Dressing to the left / right you keep level with the rider on the opposite side of the school Ride number the leading file looks over their inside shoulder and says one the next says two and the numbering continues until the rear of the ride is reached Ride prove on the command odd numbers raise their hand then even numbers Once you have really grasped this you need to explain this clearly to your ride as and when it is needed. With practice it becomes easy and shows you have total ride control. This is a great exercise especially for nervous or novice riders as it helps to stop them being self conscious. dd some position correction as you go and you have a recipe for a top class ride. It just takes practice! lways start at walk and if the ride is safe this can be done without stirrups, so you are not only showing drill riding but also work without stirrups too. The 4 arrows represent your 4 Riders and orses. 1. Turn ride across the school, and change the rein (keep the same lead file) 1 Whole ride prepare to turn across the school Whole ride turn now and change
2. Turn ride across the school and change rein (so you change lead file) 2 Whole ride prepare to turn across the school Whole ride turn now and keep the same rein (change lead file) Variations on this include: 3. alf a 10 metre circle onto the centre line, whole ride continues down centre line in succession tracking left/right at or 3 Whole ride prepare a half circle onto the centre line Whole ride circle now; on reaching / track left/right 4. alf 10 metre circle onto the centre line the on command and away half circle back to the track returning to the track in succession 4 Whole ride prepare to make a full circle onto the centre line and away Whole ride circle now onto centre line on the ride reaching centre line ND WY
If you decide to try any of this in trot it is recommended the ride take back the stirrups unless you are 100% sure the riders are really safe. If in doubt don t do it. sk the ride to number, making sure the riders speak up, and prove 5. Turn ride up the centre line in succession & send odd numbers right, even left at the other end, halt them at half markers and explain about keeping level with mirror images 5 In succession whole ride up the centre line at / t / odd numbers right/evens left to form 2 rides 6. Up the centre line as pairs, split into single rides at other end. Please note It is NOT a good idea to ride around the arena as pairs due to safety (horses kicking each other) 6 (In plenty of time) s both rides reach / turn up the centre as pairs (s your leading files reach /) Leading files turn now and at the end track right and left as 2 single rides
7. xercise number 4 can be executed again meeting as pairs on the centre line 7 oth rides prepare to make a full circle onto the centre line and back to the track, meeting as pairs on the centre line oth rides circle now onto the centre line as they reach their pair ND WY 8. To return to original single ride order turn the ride up/down the centre line as a single ride, but remind them of original number order before you execute this. oth rides prepare to turn up/down the centre line in your original ride order single file as leaders reach / Up centre line in succession Some of this or all of this is acceptable to be shown in the IT, but you should not spend more than 15/20 minutes on this subject.