BHS Stage 2

SaffronWelshDragon

SaffronWelshDragon

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Hi all,

I'm seriously thinking of taking my Stage 2 in about 3 weeks, mainly as it's being held at the RS just down the road from me and it'll be nice not to have to drive an hour to get to a centre. Any words of wisdom? I did have a lesson on lunging at the centre at the weekend, which didn't exactly fill me with confidence, one of the horses (which I understand won't be doing the exam) which very naughty and get turning in, and the other was a cob which was very hard to get moving. I don't often lunge my own anyway but when I do she's forward going and fairly obedient. On the one hand I was being told to get behind the shoulder to drive her on, but then not to get too close to the hindlegs, it's a difficult one to balance. The other elements of the exam I'm fairly happy with. My plaits leave a lot to be desired and I tend not to bandage, but other than that I will hopefully be ok. It sounds like it's going to be a very full on day!

Any advice? I'm on the verge of booking it but the £185 is slightly off-putting.
 
From what I have heard the lunging is something that many people fail on, if you are not confident it will show, if you can get plenty of practice in the next 3 weeks go for it but £185 is a lot to spend to fail on something you really need to do more of, even worse if everything else goes well.
 
I did my NVQ 2 which is basically the same syllabus and they were very fussy about everything, the bit I nearly failed on was leg bandaging, the 'horse' I was using was considerably shorter than the one I had practiced on and I totally fell to bits!
 
Thanks both, I know I sound like I'm setting myself up to fail, but if I were to take the whole exam @ £185, and say I fail the lunging, it's £45 to retake that unit. You 'bank' the other units you've passed, then once you pass the lunging, you're done, no need to retake the other units.
 
I did the NVQ 2 many moons ago. With the lunging I would say make sure you use your voice effectively! I had a lazy pony to lunge and I made sure I was quite vocal and used my voice effectively backed up by the whip to get the desired effect. We were in the indoor school and the examiner went out to watch those in the outdoor school. She commented that it was nice she could still hear me outside!

With positioning I just try to stay in the middle of the horse so you're opposite the saddle or slightly behind

Bandaging - make sure you check your bandages are rolled the correct way (i.e. when you finish bandaging the tapes are going to be on the right side)
 
Thanks Elbie, i think i'm quite good at projecting my voice but pony didn't seem to have much respect. Will get bandaging :-)

Ruth, yes it is ok to book up until about the 1st, plenty of spaces.

Now thinking it would be wise to wait until the next one (different venue) with is beginning of Oct.
 
It doesn't sound as though you're quite prepared for this exam just yet, you may be better waiting and doing a lot more lungeing etc until you can feel more confident?
 
I presume you already have your stage 1 and your RRS? It is unusual to be able to book on so close to an exam - at least around here. BHS is very precise about everything so you will need to seriously think about a couple of preparation lessons. The care is very detailed too - not something you can learn in a few weeks I'm afraid. There is no reason not to sit the exam if you can get on - but you don't sound terribly well prepared for it I'm afraid.
 
What training have you been doing towards the Stage 2? If you are not used to lunging on your own on a regular basis, with a variety of horses, how are you going to feel when youare left to it in the exam under the scrutiny of the assessor?

If you aren't feeling confident then consider that the extra petrol and inconvenience of travelling further for your exam will be cheaper than a full resit!
 
Oops, correction for my last post, next available exam is early Nov.

Yep I did my S1 and R&RS year before last. I have been preparing since then, my S2 book goes with me everywhere, so I have been revising the theory on and off for ages. It's literally the lunging that's concerning me. I basically realised that the S2 was being held very close to me and wondered whether to give it a go. I spoke to the BHS yesterday and there are spaces available, I understand you can book up until 2 weeks before the exam.

I'm definitely going to hold off anyway and do the November one. Happy to continue receiving general lunging / S2 exam tips and insights :)
 
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