equestrian7474
Well-Known Member
Found these really helpful, so here's mine! Most of the experiences I read were in the old format so here's my experience with the new format.
Briefing
I was already more than familiar with the center so that was all good. We headed in for our briefing which was basically just a 5 minute chat about the plan for the day, sorting out our bibs and some quick paperwork.
Riding
After the briefing, it was riding time. This was nowhere near as intimidating as I imagined. Although you're assessed on mounting, fixing stirrups, etc; it didn't really look like they were paying attention to it. I had two lovely mares to ride, one very forward and one not so forward. We hopped onto our first horses, formed a ride, had a quick walk trot canter around doing some circles to the rear individually, dropped our stirrups and did some transition exercises and that was the first half done in about 25 minutes. We swapped around horses, had a quick walk trot canter, put our stirrups up to do some light seat & pole work in trot, cantered in light seat and finished up. Nothing more than what the syllabus says. When we dismounted, the assessor asked us some questions on the footfalls, and then the physical description of the horses like how tall they were, color and markings.
Care
We had a 1 hour break to have our lunch but it flew by and felt like 20 minutes. We then went down to do the care half of our assessment. It was nothing like I expected. We were all assigned a horse and then were set tasks and worked individually with the assessor popping around between the 3 of us.
Mucking Out
First we were all tasked to muck out a stable. The assessor wasn't really paying attention to me and asking another girl loads of questions. We had a bit of freedom to kind of do what we wanted, I popped around to get some shavings for my bed, emptied a bucket that was there to catch leaks, and just did everything as I would at home. The assessor wasn't really watching my mucking out at all but did come around when I was finished and asked about straw beds. I was mucking out a shavings bed so be ready to discuss any kind of bedding, not just the one you're working with.
Grooming & Tacking Up
I was asked to groom and tack up my horse while the others were doing some different bits with rugs and such. I gave my horse a good thorough groom even though he was spotless, however, the assessor wasn't really watching most of it. I pointed out a few parts of the hoof while picking out the feet and that was really it for the grooming. I tacked up no problem, however I struggled a bit with the brushing boots. The assessor asked me to identify parts of the saddle and bridle and then asked me if I was happy with my brushing boots. I knew there had to be something wrong with them but I wasn't really sure what!
Trot Up & Presentation
This was as expected really. I walked the horse out to the car park where the trot-up was and I realized I had forgotten my gloves, so the assessor had to hold the horse while I nipped back to grab them. If you make a mistake like this, just go back and correct it! Don't lose the marks over a silly mistake when you know you're making it.
Feeding
Feeding was mainly what you'd expect, identify some feeds like nuts, oats, beet pulp, etc. I definitely forgot a few of my rules of feeding and I had no idea how to prepare a bran feed. I just discussed what I could really. While I was down at the feeds I was asked about some responsibilities of working on a yard, a horse's basic rights, field care, good & poor health, etc.
Haynets
My haynet was so difficult to fill as it was all caught up at the bottom but once I untangled it I filled it up and weighed it, the assessor didn't watch which I was glad about because weighing it was the part I was worrying about. I tied it up and then moved onto my next task.
Tack Cleaning
I was then asked to strip clean a bridle. I had 3 bridles to choose from, so I chose the one I had been practicing strip cleaning on as it was there and I knew the buckles weren't too stiff. I gave it a good clean and put it back together. The assessor pointed out to me that I'd done something wrong, and I wasn't sure what so he allowed me to have a think and look at some other bridles on the yard. He really tried to hint at me where I went wrong, and eventually I got that I slid the noseband strap over the headpiece instead of under.
And that was it! All done, now it's just the wait for results!
Briefing
I was already more than familiar with the center so that was all good. We headed in for our briefing which was basically just a 5 minute chat about the plan for the day, sorting out our bibs and some quick paperwork.
Riding
After the briefing, it was riding time. This was nowhere near as intimidating as I imagined. Although you're assessed on mounting, fixing stirrups, etc; it didn't really look like they were paying attention to it. I had two lovely mares to ride, one very forward and one not so forward. We hopped onto our first horses, formed a ride, had a quick walk trot canter around doing some circles to the rear individually, dropped our stirrups and did some transition exercises and that was the first half done in about 25 minutes. We swapped around horses, had a quick walk trot canter, put our stirrups up to do some light seat & pole work in trot, cantered in light seat and finished up. Nothing more than what the syllabus says. When we dismounted, the assessor asked us some questions on the footfalls, and then the physical description of the horses like how tall they were, color and markings.
Care
We had a 1 hour break to have our lunch but it flew by and felt like 20 minutes. We then went down to do the care half of our assessment. It was nothing like I expected. We were all assigned a horse and then were set tasks and worked individually with the assessor popping around between the 3 of us.
Mucking Out
First we were all tasked to muck out a stable. The assessor wasn't really paying attention to me and asking another girl loads of questions. We had a bit of freedom to kind of do what we wanted, I popped around to get some shavings for my bed, emptied a bucket that was there to catch leaks, and just did everything as I would at home. The assessor wasn't really watching my mucking out at all but did come around when I was finished and asked about straw beds. I was mucking out a shavings bed so be ready to discuss any kind of bedding, not just the one you're working with.
Grooming & Tacking Up
I was asked to groom and tack up my horse while the others were doing some different bits with rugs and such. I gave my horse a good thorough groom even though he was spotless, however, the assessor wasn't really watching most of it. I pointed out a few parts of the hoof while picking out the feet and that was really it for the grooming. I tacked up no problem, however I struggled a bit with the brushing boots. The assessor asked me to identify parts of the saddle and bridle and then asked me if I was happy with my brushing boots. I knew there had to be something wrong with them but I wasn't really sure what!
Trot Up & Presentation
This was as expected really. I walked the horse out to the car park where the trot-up was and I realized I had forgotten my gloves, so the assessor had to hold the horse while I nipped back to grab them. If you make a mistake like this, just go back and correct it! Don't lose the marks over a silly mistake when you know you're making it.
Feeding
Feeding was mainly what you'd expect, identify some feeds like nuts, oats, beet pulp, etc. I definitely forgot a few of my rules of feeding and I had no idea how to prepare a bran feed. I just discussed what I could really. While I was down at the feeds I was asked about some responsibilities of working on a yard, a horse's basic rights, field care, good & poor health, etc.
Haynets
My haynet was so difficult to fill as it was all caught up at the bottom but once I untangled it I filled it up and weighed it, the assessor didn't watch which I was glad about because weighing it was the part I was worrying about. I tied it up and then moved onto my next task.
Tack Cleaning
I was then asked to strip clean a bridle. I had 3 bridles to choose from, so I chose the one I had been practicing strip cleaning on as it was there and I knew the buckles weren't too stiff. I gave it a good clean and put it back together. The assessor pointed out to me that I'd done something wrong, and I wasn't sure what so he allowed me to have a think and look at some other bridles on the yard. He really tried to hint at me where I went wrong, and eventually I got that I slid the noseband strap over the headpiece instead of under.
And that was it! All done, now it's just the wait for results!
