Has the BHS lost its way ?

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Ifmpw

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As not to de rail the "abusive rider thread" I have started this one, as we don't want the previous thread to loose its way.

Many of us are writing to the BHS - following on from an abusive video, it appears from the time line that has been explained this video was highlighted to the BHS prior the "trainer" in question receiving a further accreditation.

Many on here have wrote to the BHS to express our concern and stated that we will look to stop supporting the BHS, unless appropriate action is taken. We appear to have been dismissed by the society with a cover all, stating they have addressed the issue.

So this thread is to discuss is the BHS doing what it sets out to do and should, or has it simply lost its way.
 
World Horse Welfare, afaik, is a much more useful and practical organisation than the RSPCA when it comes to horse welfare - they would be my go-to if I had concerns about a horse.
Who would step up and replace the BHS? UKCC for exams? ABRS for riding schools. Riding Clubs would need an umbrella organistion. That would leave bridleways, and probably other stuff I've forgotten. I do think the bridleways is the one thing the BHS are doing well, and that is entirely down to the fantastic local staff/ activists.
 
I was a BHS Gold member.

As a non-competitive happy hacker I didn't feel any kind of "welcome" by the organisation as a whole; their focus seems mainly on administering BHS exams more than catering for people like me.

Most of the events/clinics etc were well over an hour's distance away, and seemed to be for a "certain type" of rider, so of no interest to me.

Re. the ROW issue. Yes the BHS ROW Rep has a reasonably public profile in the area; however when it comes to actually DOING anything I've heard it from more than one person that they're "all talk" and the "help" they provide is basically just to tell people to do things themselves like gathering evidence of ROW usage etc. Not easy if you don't know what you're doing or how to do it. "All p!ss and wind" is an expression I've heard more than once as relating to this particular individual.
 
I personally have had a really good experience recently the local rep BHS, did a road safety clinic at our yard, free of charge, just accepting donations and we had real fun and picked up a few interesting things for safety we could impliment
 
I'd also add Blue Cross to WHW as a good charity to contact rather than RSPCA.

I had BHS membership for qualifications and also for Riding Club stuff and BHS Approval for my yard for over 40 years.

When about 15 years ago I tried to get 2 local horse routes that I'd ridden for 60 years designated as bridle paths (both were unmade roads with loads of expensive private houses that wanted to 'gate' the roads) the local BHS rep. merely pointed me at the correct form, sort of told me what to do in regard to posting notices and informing houses and left me to it.

Ultimately after a lot of leg work I succeeded in getting both designated as BOATs. After I sold my yard and stopped teaching and riding I discontinued my BHS membership as I still had public liability thru my longstanding WHW membership.
 
My friend volunteered for them as a row officer. She was amazing. She went round bridle paths that had substandard gates, made reports and got them mended or changed. She helped us get a change of speed on the road we used to get to the bridle paths. This was about 23 years ago though.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I was a BHS Gold member.

As a non-competitive happy hacker I didn't feel any kind of "welcome" by the organisation as a whole; their focus seems mainly on administering BHS exams more than catering for people like me.

Most of the events/clinics etc were well over an hour's distance away, and seemed to be for a "certain type" of rider, so of no interest to me.

Re. the ROW issue. Yes the BHS ROW Rep has a reasonably public profile in the area; however when it comes to actually DOING anything I've heard it from more than one person that they're "all talk" and the "help" they provide is basically just to tell people to do things themselves like gathering evidence of ROW usage etc. Not easy if you don't know what you're doing or how to do it. "All p!ss and wind" is an expression I've heard more than once as relating to this particular individual.
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That is certainly the experience I have had regarding a bridleway near me. Im seriously considering leaving the BHS. I only have it for insurance really and they are no real practical help with rights of way.
 
Kaylum said:
My friend volunteered for them as a row officer. She was amazing. She went round bridle paths that had substandard gates, made reports and got them mended or changed. She helped us get a change of speed on the road we used to get to the bridle paths. This was about 23 years ago though.
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I've kept my membership going for the rider insurance which turns out isn't great. And for the ROW work, but then I've been wondering more recently how much support the organisation gives and how much of it depends on having really fantastic volunteers like your friend carrying the load/responsibility?
 
starbucker said:
I personally have had a really good experience recently the local rep BHS, did a road safety clinic at our yard, free of charge, just accepting donations and we had real fun and picked up a few interesting things for safety we could impliment
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One thing I think that the BHS have done some good on and that is Road safety and driver awareness. Alan Hiscox has managed to get the Pass Wide and Slow into the Highway Code which is at least a step in the right direction in my opinion.
 
Ifmpw said:
hi

well i threatened to cancel if they did not confirm what action they have taken about the "trainer", so no longer a member ..... all they needed to do was make a statement as to the action taken, but ah well
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Am going to point something out here, and no, absolutely no idea what BHS (the awarding body) procedure for complaints / investigative / disciplinary might be - presumably in their website, or their Articles of Incorporation as a charity - so public could find out, but:
In relation to safeguarding issues, when a person reports a concern, an incident, to the relevant authority (police, social services, Safeguarding Officer, etc) and has made their statement, that informant then has no automatic right for any update at all. Unless further clarification is required, informant is out the picture.
That informant might get to learn, eg. if a criminal prosecution resulted, or they were called as witness, if the victim or ‘accused’ told them, or if the individual were suspended, struck off, sacked. But the actual case will be investigated by the relevant authority and experts to establish facts and context etc, entirely out of the hands of the original informant.
It’s not uncommon to be the actual victim of a crime, yet have very little / zero clue as to what is happening about the perpetrator. Annoying.
Here, no idea whether such process might be ongoing or even concluded, but the point is - you and all the rest of us, the general public, would not necessarily know either.
 
I am and have been a (volunteer) BHS Access/Road Safety Officer for over 50 years now. I am at present in Hertfordshire, and we have applied for over 230 paths to become Bridleways/Restricted Byways within Hertfordshire. I also get involved with obtaining new off road routes when theer are proposed housing/warehouse/solar farm developments. We are at present working on two long distance routes one that completly encircles Stevenage (Stevenage Horse and Pony ride) and anotherv from Stevenage to Cambridge. This all involves a lot of work which we do in my own time. We have a 20 person BHS Hertfordshire Access Copmmittee and we meet every two months to discuss the work that we are doing in Hertfordshire. We are always looking for new committee members and will make them most welcome. If you are interested in seeing teh work that we are doing check out our BHS Access Herts Facebook page.
 
PeterNatt said:
I am and have been a (volunteer) BHS Access/Road Safety Officer for over 50 years now. I am at present in Hertfordshire, and we have applied for over 230 paths to become Bridleways/Restricted Byways within Hertfordshire. I also get involved with obtaining new off road routes when theer are proposed housing/warehouse/solar farm developments. We are at present working on two long distance routes one that completly encircles Stevenage (Stevenage Horse and Pony ride) and anotherv from Stevenage to Cambridge. This all involves a lot of work which we do in my own time. We have a 20 person BHS Hertfordshire Access Copmmittee and we meet every two months to discuss the work that we are doing in Hertfordshire. We are always looking for new committee members and will make them most welcome. If you are interested in seeing teh work that we are doing check out our BHS Access Herts Facebook page.
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You are a bit of a superstar in your area - and there are others like you - but then in a lot of areas when you hit a problem and ask the BHS for help you get nowhere. I've posted on here to get your attention for something before Peter when I've failed from an email to the BHS! You are a much better source of knowledge.....

Its individual volunteers who make or break most charities and I don't think the BHS is any different.
 
SaddlePsych'D said:
I've kept my membership going for the rider insurance which turns out isn't great. And for the ROW work, but then I've been wondering more recently how much support the organisation gives and how much of it depends on having really fantastic volunteers like your friend carrying the load/responsibility?
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Most charities rely on volunteers and a lot of them use their own money to support doing their volunteering. I know i do x
 
I think the BHS is no different to a lot of charities - governed and influenced by those perhaps at the end of their careers/lives/experiences, with little interest in opening their minds to the modern world (RDA would be another example here), while relying on volunteers for the actual day to day to change and impact. I only really know the BHS well through the education side, namely approvals and the exams system.

The approvals process is the best we have, the ABRS falls far short, but it can be open to bending - you know when they're coming so you can squirrel away the stuff you shouldn't have, or bodge the dodgy fridge door etc before they do their rounds. I think they should hold centres to account far more, for example don't take things at face value and instead actually ask for proof of safeguarding and first aid training being completed, it's very easy to say 'yes we do x' without providing the proof, so open to abuse by those who know/are too tight to actually pay to stay above board. There is a lot of support and resource provided too for centres if you know where to find it. The BHS did very little to aid centres in the very first few days/weeks of Covid-19. So much so, my old boss ripped down the approval sign... The hardship fund they provided barely made a dent either. Circa late 2020/2021, they brought in a paid role - Business Support Manager - for each of the regions with the sole aim being that centres and livery yards had a human to contact about anything - business, admin, training, how to increase income, who was more local than head office, and then could visit if needed. I actually had an interview for it, and the feedback I received was that I was too business minded for the industry... meanwhile the person who got it had run a failed livery yard business wise. That was my first hmmmm wtf am I bothering.

On exams, I've posted many a time that the new system is a lot better, it really is across care/riding/coaching, especially at the Stage 4 and 5 levels, and I throughly enjoyed taking and passings bits and pieces up to the 5/BHSI. That said they really do need to address the issue whereby the old AI stereotype needs to die a death, but in the same breath, make people understand that you're not done, or god's gift to equestrianism by having the Stage 3 Complete (ie the old AI). The other issue is that the changes that came in 2019, especially at the BHSI/Stable Managers level meant the pass rate dropped quite substantially. Instead of upping the quality of the training, and ensuring candidates were of the new level (no bad thing when you're tallking people here who would be running/managing yards), they have re-done the syllabus and dropped the standard required, encouraged by some FBHSs who should know better. I was tipped off about the changes before being invited to sit on a syallabus review panel. Of 15 or so people on that panel, I was one of two who said keep as is, why the change. Meanwhile you had other people (who were all qualified to the level) going 'well you google this stuff, why we do need it in an exam'. It was after that review panel when I heard the changes were going through that I had my second wtf moment and I cancelled my membership. I have a lot of time for some BHSIs and Fellows, but others really do seem to want to keep the door shut, drawbridge up, and never challenge the status quo. The F&I association is great too, with plenty of training opportunities available once you're in the club, but there's a real gap between getting people from the 3 up to their 4/5. There's been a significant shift in training days/courses available at those levels in last 18 months or so, and I do wonder if it's because a) people stop after their 3 but also the 4/5 require time, money, investment, and a range of horses to ride, both on your own but training wise too. They're trying but... The professionals' direct entry to the BHSI is interesting too (what Tom Mcewen and others were awarded at Badminton), and perhaps a sign they're hoping to encourage more people to recognise that CPD, coaching training and qualifications are just as important as a competition record. Kylie Roddy getting her FBHS while actively competing at 5* will help conquer that bridge too.


They do a lot of good work, with some very able individuals, but their wider reputation and approach tends to let them down imho.
 
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onemoretime said:
One thing I think that the BHS have done some good on and that is Road safety and driver awareness. Alan Hiscox has managed to get the Pass Wide and Slow into the Highway Code which is at least a step in the right direction in my opinion.
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Check the stats.
www.horseandhound.co.uk

Perspective change needed as 58 horses killed on our roads last year - Horse & Hound

A change in the way ridden and driven horses are officially perceived could boost safety – as the latest stats showed 58 horses were killed on Britain’s roads last year. The British Horse Society (BHS) released its 2024 road incident figures yesterday (29 January), three years after changes to...
www.horseandhound.co.uk www.horseandhound.co.uk
 
I am generally in favour of the BHS, having been a member for many years, initially for taking exams and then as an exam assessor and owning an approved riding school and livery yard and also sitting on my regional committee for 20+ years. The organisation covers a huge number of areas and some are very different to others. For example for education and approvals the personnel involved are all paid for their roles and therefore it is easier for them to be held accountable. The local level access officers, welfare officers and committee members are volunteers and sometimes it can be hard to fill these roles and those that do volunteer may not have endless amounts of time to devote to things all the time.

As regards coaches, trainers and riders with BHS qualifications it has to be remembered that once a person has gained a qualification they are under to obligation to adhere to the principles they were required to demonstrate when sitting the assessment. People can advertise themselves as having a BHS qualification but they do not have to become an Approved Professional Coach or attend CPD training unless they choose to so the BHS doesn't have any control over what practices they undertake.
 
TP, I've had the impression recently re. the approvals process that once it is done there isn't then much there if problems at a RS are flagged to BHS by the public? But I've not looked that deeply into it.

I don't think any of the road safety stuff will ever get through to the people we most need to see it unfortunately, I'm not sure it ever really reaches a wider non equestrian audience (the same with cycling too).

I realised I'd forgotten about the lorry!
 
ester said:
TP, I've had the impression recently re. the approvals process that once it is done there isn't then much there if problems at a RS are flagged to BHS by the public? But I've not looked that deeply into it.

I don't think any of the road safety stuff will ever get through to the people we most need to see it unfortunately, I'm not sure it ever really reaches a wider non equestrian audience (the same with cycling too).

I realised I'd forgotten about the lorry!
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You get an annual inspection (think it was annual?) but no, unless an issue is flagged to head office, you can literally go 365 days without seeing anyone with a clipboard. Makes that one morning/afternoon visit even more of a farce in some ways.
 
Yes I remember our annual inspections and what used to be shown and not shown, but even if an issue is flagged to head office it's seemed nothing has happened in a couple of recent examples (obviously maybe stuff does behind the scenes but it seems they've not left the people involved feel it was taken seriously)
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
I was a BHS Gold member.

As a non-competitive happy hacker I didn't feel any kind of "welcome" by the organisation as a whole; their focus seems mainly on administering BHS exams more than catering for people like me.

Most of the events/clinics etc were well over an hour's distance away, and seemed to be for a "certain type" of rider, so of no interest to me.

Re. the ROW issue. Yes the BHS ROW Rep has a reasonably public profile in the area; however when it comes to actually DOING anything I've heard it from more than one person that they're "all talk" and the "help" they provide is basically just to tell people to do things themselves like gathering evidence of ROW usage etc. Not easy if you don't know what you're doing or how to do it. "All p!ss and wind" is an expression I've heard more than once as relating to this particular individual.
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You have been unfortunate as many, many BHS officials on the local committees work their socks off for the members whether it is access, road safety, welfare. And they do it for nothing other than the love of horses and supporting their fellow riders and horse owners.
 
I was a member for nearly 30 years, even though I had other insurance, I left because when I found out how and why the money was spent, and their attitude to some staff and volunteers was appalling. I went to some to the EGM and it was obvious that really that it was more interested is getting revenue from exams and supporting instructors, who may be capable, but that is not why I was a member.
I think Blue Cross and WHW do a better job of communicating with the general public. I did to speak to someone on our local BHS bridleways group, and the group was only a member for the insurance cover.
 
Obviously we have a LOT of development round here and 2 or 3 BHS access people are totally on it, but I don't always associated them with BHS as its just that they are great people. I do presume when they are in planning meetings it might help that they can say they are BHS representatives.
 
SEL said:
You are a bit of a superstar in your area - and there are others like you - but then in a lot of areas when you hit a problem and ask the BHS for help you get nowhere. I've posted on here to get your attention for something before Peter when I've failed from an email to the BHS! You are a much better source of knowledge.....

Its individual volunteers who make or break most charities and I don't think the BHS is any different.
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This is the problem - if ALL riders in the UK were members of the BHS then it would have enough money to pay people a proper wage to do these jobs instead of relying on volunteers whose commitment and expertise will vary.
 
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