Do you have a trainer or an instructor?

[zoeshiloh]

I was thinking about this the other day, how some people will not call their instructor an instructor, but rather a trainer. Is there a difference, or is it just people trying to sound like they have a higher level of instruction/training?

If you had to, what would you define as the line between being an instructor or a trainer? Would it be how high that person has competed, or how well his/her pupils are doing? Afterall, some of the best teachers are not necessarily the best riders, and visa versa.

Just thought it might be an interesting debate... Be interesting to hear different people's opinion.

 

[cazmoreton]

An instructor teaches the rider a trainer trains the horse?
I'd say i have an instructor because i'm taught to ride , wheras my friend has a trainer because he comes and does groundwork and rides her horse AND teaches her.

that works in my head

 

[miller]

Had this conversation with someone the other day, she sees it as .......

When you are learning to 'ride' - you are being instructed, hence instructor.

Once you are a 'skilled rider' and wanting to specialise in a area, be it dressage, sj, eventing etc then you are being 'trained' in a skill, hence trainer

Doesn't really matter to me - could argue if you are having a lesson you could either be being instructed or trained, suppose that depends of if person is actually teaching you how to ride a movement for example or more a pair of eyes on the ground to tweak??

 

[nikkiportia]

I don't have either

But I would say an 'instructor' teaches you how to ride.
A 'trainer' assists you in training your horse.
Does that make sense?

 

[Jennypenny]

I say trainer in my suituation. He rides my 4 year old and is helping to bring him on and also gives me some lessons.

 

[dressagecrazy]

There is no differance between an Instructor or Trainer. Trainer is a word i preffer to use.
Instructor is now thought to be an old word as such. Even the DSA is moving from Driving Instructors to Driver Trainers as they believe the word instructor is old fashioned.

I certainly dont beleive it's because people believe there getting higher instruction. I use the word Trainer because my Instructor as such is a BD Trainer. I don't care what im called im a BHS Instructor as such but what people want to call me is there choice it doesnt make the training they recieve any different.

 

[BBH]

I would say an instructor tells you what to do when you are learning to ride and a trainer enhances the performance of someone who already has some skills.

 

[PippiPony]

I always used to say instructor, but especailly at non-horsey work poeple always said "why are you having lessons?" as i have riden for over 30 years. So I now say trainer & no queries it??????

 

[Natassia]

I think an instructor teaches someone how to ride and the basics of improving their horse's way of going, and a trainer helps the rider towards a goal in their chosen discipline, eg a dressage test.

 

[dieseldog]

I say friend, but if I had to put a name on it I would say trainer as she also helped me at shows. I see her as someone who helps me get the best from my horse.

 

[teabiscuit]

i have two trainers, one for the right foot and one for the left

groan

i always wondered what the diffferance was too!

 

[rara007]

I don't have a teacher I regularly have, although I get lessons from a Trainer about once a month driving. I call her a trainer, because mainly I see her at Training clinics!

 

[Kat]

My instructor considers herself to be more of a trainer because she doesn't shout orders at us but questions us, challenges us and helps us to improve our riding and horses. But as she is in a riding school most people call her an instructor and when she is teaching novices she does the "whole ride forwards to trot" thing.

When my OH and I had a lesson with a new instructor she told the new instructor that we didn't so much need teaching as coaching.

TBH the terminology doesn't really matter it is the mindset and the result. Some instructors are better than one or the other. The terminology comes down to snobbery really, people don't like to think they still need instruction after many years of experience.

 

[kizzywiz]

I agree that an instructor teaches you, a trainer enahances your skills & trains or helps you to train the horse. However, for sj apparantely I have a coach!!! I was once put in my place when I referred to him as a trainer, think this is BSJA speak though!!

 

[M_G]

I would consider mine as a trainer as she rides to very high level in dressage and is a list 1 judge

 

[Syrah]

As the majority - Instructor teaches you, Trainer trains your Hoss.

I've not heard the Driver Trainer before. Hubby is a Driving Instructor.