ABRS v BHS exams
Alistair
My wife left school twenty years ago and has worked as a groom ever since.
Her experience ranges from polo groom at Windsor to 16 years as sole charge
groom/stable manager for a wealthy businessman. He keeps 4 heavy TBxID
hunters which go out on rota twice weekly during the season. He insists that
these horses be kept fit and immaculately turned out every time. She also
assists at a sports horse stud which is listed in the Horse & Hound top ten
each year. She takes sole charge of it when the owners are overseas looking
for new bloodlines. She is therefore fairly experienced as a groom.
Ten years ago she tried for the BHS Stage II exam. One of the examiners, a
lady wearing pink pyjamas as in the Julie Walters film of that name, knelt
down behind a nervous horse in a loose box to fill in her clip board. Mo
warned her she was going to get kicked and got a dirty look. The horse was
getting more agitated so Mo pulled the examiner away - and got another dirty
look. When the results were handed out all examiners had passed her except
"pink pyjamas" who failed her because she had "insufficient knowledge of
feeding hunters". Since Mo had been hunt groom at a high level for many
years, this seemed very unfair and vindictive.
Another explanation could be that Mo told the examiners what she was feeding
her horses - boiled barley, beet pulp, seaweed meal, etc - not what the book
said you should feed them. By coincidence two days ago I learned of a recent
identical situation where a candidate, better informed than the examiner on
the feeding of eventers, had her answers dismissed as wrong in the exam.
Mo had nothing more to do with the BHS until this year when she again
thought it would be nice to have some qualifications so she applied for
Stage II again. She went to college preparatory weekends and several
different BHSI's to get proper guidance and was told that she was easily
well up to standard.
On the day of the exam everything seemed to go well - even the unfair
classroom section at the start where questions are put to the class and
answers sought down the line. Fine if you are 1st or 2nd asked, not so good
if you are 5th or 6th and all the obvious answers have gone. Not a fair
system at all.
After lunch the eight candidates in Mo's group were tasked to plait a horse
each. The examiner then came out of the stable block into my view from the
car park and talked to stable staff from 1.20 pm to 2.45 when I could hear
her
say "Well I better go and see how they are geting on in here". By that time
all the candidates were long finished and waiting to be inspected. They were
then passed on to the lunging examiner. She also leaned on the menage rail
with her back to the candidates talking to stable staff for most of the
afternoon. One young candidate left the arena in tears because she felt she
had never been glanced at during her session and was sure she was going to
be failed. I don't know if she was or not.
When the results were handed out Mo had failed again. "Plaiting too
slow" plus riding. The examiner had no idea how long each candidate had
taken to plait their horse and Mo was 5th finished yet the candidates who
finished 7th and 8th were passed. She was not a happy lady especially as one
candidate who was asked how she would rough out a horse, had to ask what
"roughing out" meant and then went on to pass. Matters were not helped when
she was phoned that night and asked by a leading show stable to plait their
entries for the Royal Show because she was so good at it.
There seemed no point in appealing because we could not prove anything so we
had to accept this unfairness. I got in touch with the ABRS and found they
had an exam for the Groom's Certificate at Peterborough in six weeks time so
I put her name down for that. We also discussed it and decided that it might
just be bad luck that she got a dodgy examiner and so we agreed to one more
try with the BHS - she entered for the last Stage II in our area for many
months. It was five weeks away.
Again she prepared well for this exam and again it seemed to go well during
the day.
We were surprised to meet many candidates from the last exam who were also
re-sitting. We were told that 10 out of 15 candidates at the first exam had
been failed by the lunge examiner and that a strong protest had been made to
the BHS. I also met a parent who had brought his daughter to re-sit after
she had failed the Stage II exam held at her college a few weeks earlier.
Her tutors had watched that exam and assured her and another student that
they had passed it OK but the examiners had actually failed them both.
They were very worried as she believed that she had to have a BHS
qualification if she wanted to work with horses. She had been well trained
both at the college and with a BHSI who lived near her home - but she left
in tears after she was failed again. I told them about the ABRS alternative
which they said they were going to look into. Another girl was sitting the
exam for the 6th time because she too believed that she had to have it to
progress with her career.
Mo felt that she had done her best during the day and was hopeful of a
pass. However she was failed for her riding and for lunging. Neither she nor
some of the other candidates could understand why she had failed the lunge
section as it seemed to be a perfectly normal lunging routine. Mo stayed
behind to challenge the examiner why she had been failed for this.
Bearing in mind the BHS recommend that you take along a notebook to note
down the examiner's helpfull comments should you fail, when Mo asked why she
had been failed the examiner said "Well if you don't know that you are
clearly not up to Stage II standard are you dear?"
Mo was shattered and very demoralised. She was also adamant that we were not
going to the ABRS exam the following week as she was sure to fail that as
well. I have never known her to be so "knocked back" before and she clearly
believed that she was a failure as the BHS people had suggested.
She wanted to abandon Peterborough . I explained that fees were
non-refundable and the hotels were already booked so she reluctantly decided
to go and treat it as a short holiday. The exam is like the BHS one. It
starts at 7.45 in the morning and goes right through till around 5 p.m.
Unlike the BHS it is all done "on the job" with no classroom sessions.
Candidates are set to work skipping out and grooming the horses while the
examiners - one for every two candidates - constantly ask questions. It is
a gruelling and mentally exhausting proces.
Mo was (unusually) very nervous and apprehensive. She felt that the day was
going OK but she had one problem when asked about clipping a horse. She
explained the procedure she used but the examiner kept looking for something
else. When Mo could not think of anything else the examiner asked "What
about a haynet?" Mo said she never gave them a haynet when clipping as she
found it a distraction for them. The examiner disagreed. When we got the
results a week later the examiner had failed Mo on this point but the best
feature of the ABRS exam is that you are allowed three minor fails like this
before you fail overall.
You have to wait a week for the results to be posted on to you. When Mo's
arrived she had not only passed but the examiners had written in the
comments box :"No comments, merely superlatives". Mo was delighted and the
result has wiped out all the negative experiences she had with the BHS
system. She is eagerly looking forward to the ABRS Groom's Diploma next
year.
Having heard that protests were being made to the BHs over the earlier
exams, I also wrote to them to complain. Two weeks later I got a reply from
the senior examiner who had looked into our case and confirmed that the BHS
was correct to fail Mo both times. In the first case the examiner never left
the candidates unattended during the plaiting session and had found Mo's
work sub standard. Also older candidates are frequently not able to work as
fast as is required in a professional yard (She is 39).
In the second exam the examiner had felt that the horse had not respected
her during the lunging session and that this could lead to a dangerous
situation for both horse and lunger. Mo had also allowed the lunge line to
touch the floor during the session. Mo says it didn't but we can't prove it.
Another candidate who got the line wrapped round her wrist and pulled along
for a few strides passed.
BHS members will have seen in their summer magazine that BHS membership is
falling dramatically and even the Horse & Hound is attacking it as " little
more than an animal welfare organisation."
In our area, a local riding school has just resigned from the BHS because
their working class pupils are - they feel- unfairly discriminated against
at exams. They have asked for Mo to call in and tell them about her ABRS
experiences. Another riding school has just started to advertise ABRS
courses available because it is also unhappy with the BHS system.
As a Ph.D. level sociologist I tend to agree that there are signs that the
BHS system is class prejudiced and that well spoken candidates, well turned
out -especially in the blue show jacket which is supposedly against the
rules - have a much greater chance of passing the exams than candidates with
regional accents and working class backgrounds.
To the latter, if they are being rejected by the BHS examiners I say take a
look at the ABRS alternatives (or the NVQ's which I know nothing about but
hope somebody will tell us more of).
Also why do the colleges - usually also members of the ABRS not tell their
students about these exams or offer them during term time. Many students are
presented for BHS Stage II at the end of term and, if they fail it, are sent
out into the world with nothing. The ABRS is actually easier to pass if you
are up to standard because it permits three minor errors. I feel all
students should be given the
chance to sit it while at college, along withthe BHS ones.
Finally, a local stud hired a BHS AI who was a highly rated student at her
college. They had to dismiss her after three days because "all she was good
for was sitting in the back of the lorry eating crisps and giggling with her
friends". They now have an ABRS girl working with them who has not been to
college.
We would welcome hearing what you think and what your experiences have been
with the BHS.
Flame away. Alistair
Topsriding
<all that very interesting and terribly typical stuff clipped.>
I run a riding school. We are ABRS approved to the highest level but I have
never bothered with the BHS approvals system since watching their so called
inspector at work at a friends riding school when he got out of the car looked
round while locking the door saying " Well there's nothing here I haven't seen
before " and spent the next hour drinking coffee in her kitchen. I'm sure
everything was fine but he didn't know that.
Also when my daughter went to take and pass her Stage 11 exam many years ago
she naturally went dressed in her best - all her best showing gear for riding.
She wasn't allowed to answer questions - the examiner said: " Not you dear I
can see you know what you are doing." The girls who went in sweaters failed.
I decided I didn't need these extraordinary people telling me what I knew -
that she was a darned good horsewoman - so didn't bother entering her for any
more. She also got severely ticked off for riding "beyond the Stage" - now, for
a young woman who was virtually born on horseback and who had competed at
National level for hers it would be extremely difficult not to be riding beyond
BHS Stage 11.
I train for the ABRS exams and am also deeply into NVQs which I believe are
becoming more and more recognised as the way to go in the industry. I much
prefer both to the BHS route as both recognise that there is more than one way
to do things and regard as competent any method which is safe, gets the job
done and doesn't harm the horse.
I had a young friend who failed a BHS exam, a few years ago because she did not
put both bolts on the stable door when going to get something - because the
examiner was actually in the box with the horse. Asked why she had not locked
the kick bolt she said, quite rightly, " Because you were still in there " and
was promptly told that she should have ignored the examiner's presence and
pretended she wasn't there.
I decided that with people like that, making decisions like that, the
"qualifications" weren't worth the paper they were printed on.
Kay McC
Catja Pafort
>My wife left school twenty years ago and has worked as a groom ever since.
>Her experience ranges from polo groom at Windsor to 16 years as sole charge
>groom/stable manager for a wealthy businessman. He keeps 4 heavy TBxID
>hunters which go out on rota twice weekly during the season. He insists that
>these horses be kept fit and immaculately turned out every time. She also
>assists at a sports horse stud which is listed in the Horse & Hound top ten
>each year. She takes sole charge of it when the owners are overseas looking
>for new bloodlines. She is therefore fairly experienced as a groom.
Pardon me asking, but why does your wife feel she needs an extra
qualification? (It can't hurt, of course). In my experience more
people get hired because they are experienced and good on the job,
then because they have a piece of paper. I think every good employer
will know of the BHS's examn reputation - a lot of people go down that
way because they don't have (or can't think off) another choice - but
I'm willing to bet that I can get a job that some Stage Two Candidates
couldn't - purely on the strength of my experience.
<failure snipped>
>Another explanation could be that Mo told the examiners what she was feeding
>her horses - boiled barley, beet pulp, seaweed meal, etc - not what the book
>said you should feed them.
This fits with everything I hear so far - I'm pretty sure that I would
fail those examns because I don't always do things by the book -
*especially* not where the book is dangerous.
I think that she should really not bother with the BHS. If she wants
extra qualifications to get a job in the horse industry, she has two
choices. Either she can do something horse-related that is outside of
the experience of most grooms (like nutrition - or better still,
massage, laser therapy, that sort of thing) - or she can aquire skills
that are completely outside - learn more about saddlery and saddle
fitting, for instance, or do bookkeeping - all those things that help
running a business, but which most girls don't think about. At her
age, she has a great advantage over most job applicants - experience.
Many girls (well, mostly girls) looking for a job 'love' horsies - but
they have little experience, and lack the farsightedness of more
mature applicants. OTOH, they are more willing to be exploited and
stick to 'no freedom, no dogs, no boyfriends' rules. But then, your
wife doesn't want THAT kind of job.
>As a Ph.D. level sociologist I tend to agree that there are signs that the
>BHS system is class prejudiced and that well spoken candidates, well turned
>out -especially in the blue show jacket which is supposedly against the
>rules - have a much greater chance of passing the exams than candidates with
>regional accents and working class backgrounds.
I have no idea whether it has anything to do with class - I only see
the class system from the outside and don't understand all the
nuances. (I grew up in Germany)
The feeling I got from talking to people is that the BHS want everyone
to do things exactly the BHS way - independent thought not encouraged.
I'm not saying that the system as a whole doesn't make sense. At least
it encourages people to learn, to qualify, and it asks of their
instructors to keep improving themselves. It provides a good overall
structure for learning to ride and teach - like always, it's the
execution that isn't up to the system.
>Also why do the colleges - usually also members of the ABRS not tell their
>students about these exams or offer them during term time. Many students are
>presented for BHS Stage II at the end of term and, if they fail it, are sent
>out into the world with nothing. The ABRS is actually easier to pass if you
>are up to standard because it permits three minor errors. I feel all
>students should be given the chance to sit it while at college, along with
>the BHS ones.
I'll put the question to Alison - head of the equine section here at
Aberystwyth. I know there are many students practicing for the BHS
stages here, haven't heard about ABRS.
>We would welcome hearing what you think and what your experiences have been
>with the BHS.
Personally, none. If I wanted a teaching qualification, I'd go for the
ABRS one - not the least reason being that I can't affort the 500 or
so pounds that I would need to get an AI, and that's *without* failing
or lessons.
The only problem I see with the ABRS is that if it were in the same
position as the BHS is today (the recognised organisation, high number
of candidates) then it *probably* would't be much different - good
ideas, mediocre execution. The German FN is no different. They, too,
turn out instructors that you wonder how they ever passed anything.
Catja
and Mork
--
Catja Pafort
<http://www.aber.ac.uk/~cap96>
"Finish a sentence when it gets tired and start a new one."
(Tom Ivers on rec.eq)
Topsriding
>position as the BHS is today (the recognised organisation, high number
>of candidates) then it *probably* would't be much different - good
>ideas, mediocre execution. The German FN is no different. They, too,
>turn out instructors that you wonder how they ever passed anything.
The biggest difference I can see between the BHS and the ABRS, and I have had
experience of both, is that the ABRS is composed at high level of people who
actually own and run riding schools.
It is, after all, an organisation which is primarily for the riding school
proprietor.
Consequently the examiners who are also riding school proprietors of some
standing are looking for people who can carry out tasks efficiently, cost
effectively and within the guidelines of the multitude of legislation applying
to riding schools.
They are also much more prepared to accept that there is such a thing as a
"working rider".
You can find all the ABRS stuff on their web site with details of the exam
structures.
Kay McC
Isabell A. Lillie
Please tell your wife not to give up. I have been Physically disabled all
my life and have been involved with horses just as long. I have alsways
been very active, have done training on good yards, worked
on dealing yards, brought horses back to life and helped with breeding
programmes etc., my father had ponies. I have been a group organised and
instructor with the RDA for 12 years and have only been insured by them for
3yrs I worked at my own risk. Have ridden, trained and won competitions
etc., I have sat my RDA exams
twice and exams not really relevent to my work which has been very
successful, I have a young blind rider walk, trot and canter anything she
can get her hands on. I have experienced what your wife has and my story
is just as bad. But I am going to try again. These exams
are so out dated and useless and the training committee like wise. As long
as we give a first class service to all those we work for then
we know we are good. Izzy.
Anne Ramkaran
<topsr...@aol.com> writes
>>This is our story. I will try to keep it as brief and impartial as possible.
>
>
>I run a riding school. We are ABRS approved to the highest level but I
have
>never bothered with the BHS approvals system since watching their so
called
>inspector at work at a friends riding school when he got out of the car
looked
>round while locking the door saying " Well there's nothing here I
haven't seen
>before " and spent the next hour drinking coffee in her kitchen. I'm
sure
>everything was fine but he didn't know that.
I did BHSAI through an approved shool some years ago. There was no check
on tack or on the match between horse and rider. Dress certainly did not
count, nor did attitude to whip or contol of the horse. I failed because
I refused to allow a clearly incompetent novice to continue with
exercises way beyond her or her horse. I never tried again, but I still
think I'm safer as an instructor than some who passed. I passed the
whole of the riding section.
>Also when my daughter went to take and pass her Stage 11 exam many years ago
>she naturally went dressed in her best - all her best showing gear for riding.
>She wasn't allowed to answer questions - the examiner said: " Not you dear I
>can see you know what you are doing." The girls who went in sweaters failed.
>I decided I didn't need these extraordinary people telling me what I knew -
>that she was a darned good horsewoman - so didn't bother entering her for any
>more. She also got severely ticked off for riding "beyond the Stage" - now, for
>a young woman who was virtually born on horseback and who had competed at
>National level for hers it would be extremely difficult not to be riding beyond
>BHS Stage 11.
>I train for the ABRS exams and am also deeply into NVQs which I believe are
>becoming more and more recognised as the way to go in the industry. I much
>prefer both to the BHS route as both recognise that there is more than one way
>to do things and regard as competent any method which is safe, gets the job
>done and doesn't harm the horse.
>I had a young friend who failed a BHS exam, a few years ago because she did not
>put both bolts on the stable door when going to get something - because the
>examiner was actually in the box with the horse. Asked why she had not locked
>the kick bolt she said, quite rightly, " Because you were still in there " and
>was promptly told that she should have ignored the examiner's presence and
>pretended she wasn't there.
>I decided that with people like that, making decisions like that, the
>"qualifications" weren't worth the paper they were printed on.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Kay McC
--
Anne Ramkaran (an...@ramkaran.demon.co.uk)
Bryan Farrar
I would have to agree with the idea that the BHS exams are hughly unfair.
After all, they get more money if you fail, because you have to pay out
every time you take the exam. When I was training students for these
exams they often voiced the opinion that the BHS's sole aim was to make
money out of them, and that could be best done by failing them.
Personally I have given up bothering to try for my Stage 3 riding. I
have passed both the flat work and jumping sections, just not on the same
day. People who fell off passed when I was failed, but it later
transpired that two of the fallers knew the senior examiner socially.
Hum. This was made worse by the fact that I had been told by an examiner
that I was easily up to standard and would have to fall off to fail...
I would certainly agree that those speaking with home counties accents
are most often passed, and I have seen examples of them not being asked
questions in the oral sections, or not being pinned down following vague
answers like those with other regional accents.
The other problem is the variation between the standard of horses used at
different centres, and also the type of cross country course in
particular. At one centre I have been to it was long, and had about ten
large and varied jumps. At another it was a sedate canter round the edge
of a small field over four small identical fences. How is that fair?
Clearly there are people of a better standard failing and people who are
hardly able to scrape through getting passed, depending on the centre
they go to. Obviously it also depends if you get a decent horse too, but
then there's not so much that can be done about standardising them!
At my Stage 3 care I watched the riding section, and one girl got a horse
fro the jumping which put in the most shocking refusals. I overheard one
of the instructors from the centre commenting to a groom that it always
did that these days, and maybe they shouldn't use it next time! The girl
riding it failed, and was told by the examiner that she should have tried
to school the horse out of its problem there and then, because if she
became a riding instructor she would have to deal with difficult horses.
Except I don't remember seeing in the syllabus that you have to be able
to re-train horses, only ride ones that are reasonably well schooled.
They just make it up as they go along.
Having given up the idea of teaching riding I am now eight weeks into my
first year as a Secondary school English teacher. The money is better,
but I still would have liked to have fulfilled that ambition to teach
horse care at an FE college, and of course for that they specify that you
have to have BHS qualifications. Often they want Stage 4, or even
Instructor level - considering how long it would take and how much it
would cost to obtain those qualifications it seems ridiculous that I was
able to become a qualified school teacher in 36 weeks, and got a grant
for doing it!!!!
There's something wrong somewhere...
Regards,
Elizabeth & freshly clipped Robert cob.
Janet George
Anne Ramkaran wrote in message <907yABBH...@ramkaran.demon.co.uk>...
possible.
>>"qualifications" weren't worth the paper they were printed on.
<snip lots>
As the brand new Head of Public Affairs at the BHS, I was concerned to read
some of the messages expressing dissatisfaction with BHS exams. I feel a
great
deal of sympathy with those who failed - many years ago I was failed at
Stage III
four weeks before passing AI - I also failed Stage IV and I Stable
Manager's, both
of which I felt were - at least - harsh.
I also trained a number of students for Stages 1 - 3 and AI - most passed
but two failures
I felt were very unjustified and at one exam (at an ABRS approved school
actually)
two horses were actually dangerous for the Stage II students - one of whom
had a very
nasty fall and couldn't continue.
The fact is the BHS has a lot of examiners and runs a lot of exams. Many
people pass
at all levels - some no doubt didn't deserve to (including one I hired as a
groom!!) and
undoubtedly some of those who fail probably shouldn't have. Nothing's
perfect.
BUT, the BHS IS aware of problems and is currently reviewing its
examinations and
Approvals procedures and is not complacent (at least not now) - far from it.
The BHS
qualifications ARE -though - nationally and internationally recognised to an
extent that
ABRS and NVQs are not.
But the fact is that exams - like anything else - require an examiner to
come to an
opinion based on what he/she sees on the day. Exam nerves or a bad horse
can put a
very good candidate at a disadvantage - that's the luck of the draw. I
don't understand
failing someone for riding 'above the standard' - that's apparently why I
was failed at
Stage III - eek!!
I have not seen all the posts on this subject - a couple have been forwarded
to me that my
server didn't seem to find (computers definitely more temperamental than
your average TB).
If anyone has bad experiences or complaints they would like to forward to me
I will make sure
the right people see them - won't change what's happened, I'm afraid, but
may help improve
the BHS exams system for the future.
Under its new management, the BHS is trying very hard to improve the service
it delivers to
its membership AND to the equine world in general. Any comments,
criticisms, ideas, or
criticisms please e-mail me direct - I'd be grateful for your input - and
maybe we can do a
lot better in the future.
regards
Janet George
an...@netcomuk.co.uk
into several parts but could not then guarantee that thry appeared
in the correct order or would stay threaded.
after the introduction I will provide a brief contents list.
[introduction]
Welcome, Janet, pleased to see you both reading and responding to
the group. Although this - and other groups and lists - quite often
contains a fair (unfair?) amount of "BHS-bashing", most of us are
trying to be constructive and we hope that you will be able to feed
back attitudes etc to those who run the BHS. I appreciate that you
will feel it is part of your job to counter negative views wherever
express, but would hope that - as in this case - you spend some
time listening before giving a thoughtful response. You can read
past messages to this - or any other - newsgroup at
http://www.dejanews.com
this is a searchable repository of the contents of all newsgroups
for the last few years. For other discussion forums see
"other newsgroups and mailing lists" below.
[contents]
other newsgroups and mailing lists
some general thoughts
my background
my exam experience
exams - the candidate
exams - the examiner
exams - the syllabus
[other newsgroups and mailing lists]
There are several other equestrian newsgroups, notably
rec.equestrian
but this is very high volume, mainly US oriented, and tends to
be somewhat acrimonious.
There are also some mailing lists, of which I will mention two:
uk-riders & eurohorse
these are both (genrally) friendly lists containg many UK and some
European, American, and other riders who discuss many items.
Both seem to contain a high proportion of people who have
some disagreements with "the BHS way" and give reasoned
arguments for their view.
:How to join the UK-Riders mailing list
:Warning: this mailing list is medium-high volume - expect 10-20
:messages a day at quiet times and over 30/day during more active periods.
:You need to send a normal mail message to the list as follows:-
:Subject: Leave Blank
:Message: Subscribe
:Once you have done that then press send. You will then receive
:confirmation that you have subscribed and all messages to the list serve
:will then be sent to you and you can then join in. It is a good idea to
:i:ntroduce yourself and give a brief history of yourself and your horses
:so we all know a little about you.
(I have a horrible feeling that I have got something wrong there, but
that is cut and pasted from a "how to do it" page)
To join Eurohorse use a web browser to go to
http://www.onelist.com
and search for eurohorse
entry to this list is (mildly) vetted by the list owners
[some general thoughts]
A year of so ago I came up with a classification of riding
that others have found useful and I think provides a
good background to this discussion.
(a) Safe social riding
(b) Riding for Competition
(c) Riding as an art form
What few - and especially the BHS - seem to accept is
that to move between these categories you have to
relearn essentially from scratch.
Although the BHS - and to a lesser extent the ABRS - claims
to cover all three, in practice one can match backgrounds
to organisations:
(a) ABRS
(b) BHS
(c) Classical Riding Club
The irony of this is, of course, that the vast majority of
riding instructors are teaching customers who are wanting
(a), but have their qualifications from the BHS where the
exams are oriented towards (b) [and are claimed - wrongly
IMHO - to be based on (c)]
There is obviously some overlap between the categories -
Hunting having several of the properties of both (b) and (a),
but in category (b) some safety is compromised fro the sake
of performance.
[my background]
I am a late convert to riding - I had my first riding lesson in my mid
30s about 15 years ago and quickly got "hooked". I
started at a (then) BHS examination centre (it was also an
ABRS member, but didn't use that), soon I was also going to
a more local riding school which was a staunch ABRS member.
I took stages I & II as one exam failing stage II
later I took some of the ABRS weekly riders tests
since then I have continued to take an interest in
exams talking with BHS and ABRS examiners and
an NVQ assessor and looking at the syllabi.
I decided not to retry the stage II when the stage III
jumping requirements went significantly higher than
my confidence level. (and I saw little point in going
through the process unless I had a reasonable
chance of gaining a meaningful qualification)
To give an idea of my qualifications for commenting
on this subject, I am a member of staff in a University,
have been so for 28 years, and am a member of a
Board of Studies. I am the owner and (moderately
competent) rider of a horse that is used as a working
livery by a riding school. I also have regular lessons
both at that riding school and another where my
instructor is a former BHS chief examiner and (current)
GNVQ assessor/
[my exam experience]
I took stages I & II at the centre where I had been
having lessons - I knew the horses, we had a
trial exam a week before. I knew my jumping was below
standard because my preparation had been interrupted
by a fall in which I had broken my arm and I had had
only a month to try and get jumping again. (I had already
decided that if I was assigned a certain horse for the
jumping I would withdraw from that immediately)
Another decision I made in advance was that if the
horse I was riding was significantly unlevel - and this
was a serious possibility - I would go up to the examiners
and say so (even if it might have annoyed my friends
at the school)
The exam rules (at that time - not sure now) had a rule
about length of whip (essentially limiting it to a jumping
crop), but all the internal candidates were advised to
bring both a schooling whip and a jumping one and
arrangements were made to change these between the
flatwork and jumping parts. The outside candidates, of
course didn't know this and so might have been at a
disadvantage here.
I did OK in the theory section, and not too badly in the
stable management - luckily I didn't have to plait, which
I cannot do neatly! - although at the end of the stable
management all candidates were gathered together
and (rightly!) chastised over safety ... we had been
asked to show how we would remove a loose shoe
and nobody held the (hind) leg up in a safe way -
I had commented as I was doing it that I didn't think I
was doing it right, but wasn't quite sure - and we then
had a demonstration. It appears that this wasn't
enough to fail any of us but may have had an effect
on marginal cases.
For the flatwork we rode two horses - and one of the
outside candidates did indeed go up to the examiners
and say that she thought the horse was lame (mine
wasn't so bad so I didn't have the decision to make)
The examiners' response was that "they're all a bit
like that - it'll probably work through it". Did OK on
the first horse and then changed to Muldoon for the
second part of flatwork - unfortunately his canter feels
so odd that I cannot tell when he is on a wrong lead -
and thus I failed to notice when I got a wrong lead ...
that wasn't in itself quite bad enough to fail me. but
put me in the marginal category. Luckily having
Muldoon for the flatwork meant I didn't have him for the
jumping but for various reasons to do with the availability
of horses I had to warm up one then ride another for
the jumping. Failed the jumping - probably mainly because
when I realised I was making a poor approach to one
fence I circled (treating the situation as a schooling
round) when I think it was expected that I treat it as a
competition.
A comment from the senior examiner about the jumping
afterwards was that he though the men should have
shortened their stirrups much more taking advantage
of their strength to make this possible ... to this I
commented that I have rather short legs and that if I
had shortened my stirrups any more my legs would not
have reached below the saddle flap .... to which the only
answer was "oh - yes perhaps"
[exams - the candidate]
Here is where I perhaps disagree most with the complaint
that started this thread.
** When you take an exam at any level up to at least
first degree, you give the answer the examiner wants -
even if you think it is wrong **
That applies even if you have a PhD in equine nutrition
and the examiner hasn't learned anything on the subject
since she got her "I" thirty years ago.
If you really cannot stomach giving "wrong" answers then
sat something like:
"it used to believed that <answer the examiner wants>, but
recent research at <Camvet/RVC/wherever> has shown
that it is better to ...". (note that recent here may be anything
up to 30 years ago :-). This sort of answer is somewhat
risky, but less likely to fail you than just giving the modern
answer.
Similarly, for stages II & III it is (almost) essential to ride
"the BHS way" even if you think that is not how you
would normally ride ... you may need to take some lessons
with someone who knows what is expected in the exams.
[exams - the examiner]
The examiner can only pass or fail depending on what they
see and hear on the day and on what their belief in what is
correct. Ensuring examiners are up to date on the correct
answers to everything on the syllabus and have a
uniform understanding of what standards are required is
admihnistratively complex, time-consuming, and expensive.
None the less it is vital. I think most of my "complaints"
are more to do with the real syllabus (the printed one
is bland and says little] than the examiners themself.
But nobody should _ever_ be marked down rather than
commended for "riding above the level expected".
[exams - the syllabus]
Here is where I have the big problems, for a start the BHS
exams syllabi tend only to give a broad-brush description
of what will be tested - and even less clue as to the standards
required. The written differences between Stage II & Stage III
are very small - the actual difference is major.
It is also the case that for Stages II & III style is important and
effectiveness much less so, whereas this gets reversed in
Stage IV (but again with no real clue from the literature)
I have also had the feeling that Stages II & III are aimed towards
the hunter groom - immaculate appearance of horse and rider and
much emphasis of "fittening" and "letting down" whereas the
average riding school proprietor is likely to be much more concerned
with effeciency - the six horses for the next lesson all being
quickly and safely prepared on time within half an hour.
The ABRS diplomas seem to have a much clearer statement
of what is expected and a closer connection to reality - I don't
know whether they can manage to keep the knowledge base up
to date.
GNVQs perhaps are the closest to "the real world", but have a
potentially very serious flaw in the assessment - the assessor is
usually the supervisor of the student and is paid for the number
who pass (not the number who take) - in reality this means that
to trust the certificate you have to trust the specific person who
tested.
<< I should say more, but this message is already far far too long >>
Andy Holt
Topsriding
>qualifications ARE -though - nationally and internationally recognised to an
>extent that
>ABRS and NVQs are not.
That is only true to the same extent that one might believe that Persil washes
whiter - Because Persil tells one so. The ABRS has an excellent International
presence.
>But the fact is that exams - like anything else - require an examiner to
>come to an
>opinion based on what he/she sees on the day. Exam nerves or a bad horse
>can put a
>very good candidate at a disadvantage - that's the luck of the draw.
Which is exactly why the National Vocational Qualifications are a far far
better system of qualification for a skills based industry.
>I
>don't understand
>failing someone for riding 'above the standard' - that's apparently why I
>was failed at
>Stage III - eek!!
>
Happens all the time Janet. Couldn't happen with an NVQ - NVQs recognise the
skills you already possess.
The sad truth is though that the British Horse Society has a vested pecuniary
interest in hanging on to an outmoded, unfair, elitist system which stacks all
the odds against the interest of the candidate.
It makes a great pretence of "approving" nearly 700 riding establishments when
the horse world is aware that two or three inspectors couldn't possibly do the
job properly and castigates those who have chosen not to belong to the
exclusive club as "cowboys"
You have just done exactly the same thing in your posting by writing off
"dangerous horses" as belonging to the ABRS - when we are all aware that it is
not possible to take a BHS exam anywhere but at a BHS approved exam centre.
It is this sort of insidious propaganda that puts people's backs up.
A new look slimmed down BHS will have even less clout and be even less
effective.
In my area it is a positive advantage not to belong to the BHS as the BHS
riding schools are without doubt the worst.
I went out to a BHS riding school in my area to help a training manager with an
assessment of a girl who had worked there as a YT for 18 months and appeared to
no nearer her NVQ Level 2 than when she started. There was ragwort growing on
the yard which made a wonderful first impression. In the reception area there
was rat poison in open saucers. The girl knew nothing about Health & Safety and
was unaware that working in the haybarn amongst old dusty hay might be damaging
to herself. During my assessment she had put on the snaffle upside down, fitted
a martingale incorrectly, didn't know that the numnah had to be pulled up into
the saddle gullet and couldn't tell me what sort of straw she was using - need
I go on ?
But the BHS tells the public that ONLY at BHS riding schools will they be safe.
I think not Janet.
The BHS should tell the truth and tell the public that it is the Riding
Establishment Licence that is their protection against the real cowboys and
instead of putting the rest of us down should work with the whole of the
industry to improve the lot of horses, students and the industry as a whole.
And until they do I, for one, will continue to cast a highly critical eye over
their inflated claims to speak for me.
Kay McC
Topsriding
>potentially very serious flaw in the assessment - the assessor is
>usually the supervisor of the student and is paid for the number
>who pass (not the number who take) - in reality this means that
>to trust the certificate you have to trust the specific person who
>tested.
I didn't know there was an agreed GNVQ yet in Horse Care - you learn something
new every day obviously.
But certainly with NVQs it isn't true to say you have to trust only the person
doing the assessing. There is a very efficient quality control system
stretching right up to Government level and the standards, set by the industry,
are jealously guarded.
Nor is to true to say that the candidate is tested. Assessment in the industry
means actually observing a candidate in action and this should always mean in a
real work situation.
In the workplace, where NVQs belong it is no-one's interest to be giving the
competence *tick* to someone who is not yet competent because it is your own
business that suffers at the end of the day.
It has been shown, beyond any reasonable doubt that the take up of NVQs and
their assessment in the workplace has spin off which benefits the business. The
staff are trained not just to ride horses and answer a few questions which have
little to do with the actual workplace but also to look after the clients, work
in teams, be health and safety competent and understand the very real
commercial aspects of what they are doing.
Kay McC
an...@netcomuk.co.uk
>
>I didn't know there was an agreed GNVQ yet in Horse Care - you learn something
>new every day obviously.
I could well have been confusing NVQs and GNVQs
Andy