Un qualified instructors

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onedayiwill

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Sorry but this is a rant
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I am a BHS reg instructor and have had to pay alot in time and money to get to where I am.
I went to teach at a yard today and had to wait for the school, which was being used by another lady teaching.
I couldnt belive what I was seeing or hearing, it was total rubbish, the poor person she was teaching was so unbalanced, and bless her was a real novice, but the instructor kept on saying Good Good Excellent, when she was on the wrong diagonal, wrong canter lead etc etc. The little horse was a star, didnt put a foot wrong dispite a totaly unbalanced rider. The lesson finished and the rider was beaming as she was being told how well she was improving.
I couldnt believe it, the person I was going to teach was gob smacked too and said this person regularly teaches there but has no qualifications and of course no insurance.
I know its none of my business, but people like this gives instructors bad names, IT MAKES ME SO MAD Sorry rant over
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The best instructors I have had have been unqualified - and I have had some god damn awful qualified ones so qulaifications don't equal a good teacher. You get good and bad in both. Please don't tar everyone with the same brush.
However, not having insurance is bad. What happens when something goes wrong? People like that need a good slap round the face to wake them up.
No insurance + bad instructor = disaster waiting to happen.
 
I am qualified however I have seen many a fine instructor who is not qualified. I actually dont think it makes a whole lot of difference when teaching at lower levels and my own philosophy is that the subtleties of riding can be taught at a later date, a beginner rider gaining experience and becoming comfortable on a horse is far better than whether they are on the right diagonal in my book. Does the facility not hold insurance for their instructors?
 
Im training through ABRS, and Im not that slack
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It has cost me a lot of money, and even though Im not qualified, when I practice I like to be professional
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I wouldn't charge people as I am, I have given friends a couple of lessons for experience for me
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I should be paying them
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Mind you I haven't done anything for months, going to crack on again after Xmas
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I think I am being miss understood Im not saying that all un qualified instructors are bad, and must admit have seen some qualified ones that havent been very good. I was having a rant about this particular lady today,I teach all levels from beginners to Stage 4 plus and have been doing so for many years.
My point was she wasnt teaching this young girl just shouting how good and excellent she was WHEN SHE WASNT The poor girl has left her lesson thinking she was doing everything right.

May be I shouldnt have put the post up, but just HAD TO LET OF STEAM
 
Im a Qualified BHS Instructors also & i really don't think it means that much tbh i think the BHS system is flawed.
I train with quite a few Trainers & none of them are qualified & they are brilliant trainers with lot's of experience.

In fact all my own personal bad experiences have always been with BHS instructors.

There is no excuse for teaching without insurance, but hey i suppose thats there choice, if something happens they will regret it.
 
personally it doesnt bother me whether the person teaching me is qualified or not the person i use is not qualified but competes internationally so the proof is in the pudding its all very well and good someone knowing the theory but its no good if they cant put it into practice. ive had bhs instructors before who were absolute crap (not saying they all are) and quite frankly i can ride better than them anyway and im pretty naf lol so i think it depends the individual case really. u cant tar all unqualified trainers with same brush just same as u cant with qualified.
 
Dont think onedayiwill is taring unqualified instructors, just the instructor she saw to day, and quite honestly can see her point
 
perhaps if the OP truly didn't mean to slag off all unqualified instructors she wouldn't have titled the post as she has and had the first line saying how she is BHS qualified?

did you see how the rider rode before she started lessons? maybe she actually has improved?

maybe she has low confidence/self esteem and needs to be moddycoddled along a bit before she can take constructive criticism?
 
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did you see how the rider rode before she started lessons? maybe she actually has improved?

maybe she has low confidence/self esteem and needs to be moddycoddled along a bit before she can take constructive criticism?

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Good point, also I believe it is possible to get insurance without being qualified, its expensive, but can be done.
 
I've had fantastic un qualified instructors. There are rubbish ones in each sector. In fact, judging by the OP I'd rather have unqualified ones
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Although I'd be bitter as well spending goodness knows how much on BHS qualifications which I don't really rate.

*ends stirring*

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I think the BHS should come up with a new system of qualifications that either you can gain through competition experience or exams. The BSJA are doing something like this now.
I would always recomend people who are not qualified to get insurance SEIB do instructor insurance. This is also a good idea for anyone who handles horses for people even if you turn a horse out for someone you are liable
 
I don't know if my instructor is qualified or not, and have no idea if she has insurance. I don't worry about insurance, as I know that my horse is insured and if I fall off in my lesson, it WILL be my fault!
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I *think* she is qualified, but its not something I have asked, I 'got' her through a recommendation off a friend, which is always the best way to go imho.

I have had some good qualified instructors, but have to say as a general rule the best ones I've had have been unqualified. Some of the ones I had teach me in my PC days were definitely qualified and most were god awful! One told me my dressage was 'crap' - no reflection on your teaching then
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I have used some BHS trainers who have been really crap. Just because someone has passed a few exams does not mean they they are a good trainer.
I have no idea if my last trainer had her BHS exams or even the trainer after that. I only stopped using the first one because she moved abroad and the second one because my horse broke whilst out in the field. I wouldnt even think to ask a new trainer if they had passed their exams. Their training methods are far more important to me.

At the end of the day this instructor is not going to make money by telling someone they are crap. It is up to the rider to decide who she wants to use and how she wants to spend her money. (sorry, dont mean it to sound snooty!)
 
OK got to ask this question what would they get insurance for? If they are not qualified would an insurance company cover them? For what? If they are not qualified and something happens the insurance would probably be nil and void due to them not being qualified
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I think there are similarities in many professions - a qualification doesn't necessarily equal a better educated or experienced individual. However, it's a benchmark of training which can be quantified to anyone who asks. Okay, an Olympic gold medal could do the same - but they're as rare as hen's teeth. ;0)

I think that the insurance thing would be the kicker for me. That's what sepeartes the cowboys from the rest...IMO
 
My mate is taking her stage 3 and teaching exams, she has failed the riding which I was amazed at as she competes BE 100 and is placed! so I guess to become a BHS instructor isnt a push over
 
One of my best instructors ever wouldn't have known a BHS qualification if he had fallen over one to be frank.He was very effective though.My current instructor does have a BHS qualification along with extensive competition experience.I got her by word of mouth.I have met some truly awful BHS instructors and would never take a BHS qualification as a sign of anything.The BHS needs to smarten up if it wants to keepany credibility.
 
I'm unqualified and I teach
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TBH if a very novice rider is managing to rise to the trot I don't worry too much what diagonal they're on
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My RI isn't qualified either, I don't think.
If the instructor you saw HAD been qualified, would you have felt differently about what you saw? Qualifications don't necessarily make anyone good at what they do. After all, there are bad doctors, vets, teachers, lawyers...
 
In general qualifications should guarantee that at some point in time the person had some level of knowledge/skill in line with whatever 'syllabus' they studied.

So, a good place to start but neither sufficient nor necessary.

I don't think that telling someone they are doing well when they aren't is /always/ a bad thing. I had heaps of praise at the end of my lesson this morning for walking (with his feet literally dragging) a few 10m circle-ish shapes and then doing a few paces of trot. And I've been riding for /years/ now. If you'd have heard that you'd have been shocked too. But what you wouldn't have known was that we'd had a massive rodeo session and a nice big fall earlier on followed by quite some difficulty catching as he bucked, kicked out and charged around the arena. (NB this wasn't share horsey who is much nicer!) So, was I riding well? No! Did the priase help me learn? Yes! (Well, it gave me confidence I'd been right to get back on at any rate!)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry but this is a rant
mad.gif
I am a BHS reg instructor and have had to pay alot in time and money to get to where I am.
I went to teach at a yard today and had to wait for the school, which was being used by another lady teaching.
I couldnt belive what I was seeing or hearing, it was total rubbish, the poor person she was teaching was so unbalanced, and bless her was a real novice, but the instructor kept on saying Good Good Excellent, when she was on the wrong diagonal, wrong canter lead etc etc. The little horse was a star, didnt put a foot wrong dispite a totaly unbalanced rider. The lesson finished and the rider was beaming as she was being told how well she was improving.
I couldnt believe it, the person I was going to teach was gob smacked too and said this person regularly teaches there but has no qualifications and of course no insurance.
I know its none of my business, but people like this gives instructors bad names, IT MAKES ME SO MAD Sorry rant over
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There is 1 instructor around me that teaches just like that, only she is a BHSII! You can hear "Oh just kick it!" or "Excellent!" (despite rider hanging off the horse's mouth and bouncing around on the horse's back like a sack of spuds).
 
I am presuming you went onto someone elses yard to teach either a livery of the yard or someone hiring the arena? If this is the case I really hope both YO's & clients (liveries or person hiring facilities) realise that is a real stupid thing to do. For a YO unless the Instructor is employed by them & covered on yards insurance they must have proof of "Instructors own Insurance" Otherwise the YO is liable for any accident & will be made to pay.
 
I passed my BHS Stage 2 and then decided to quit, I found there was way too many flaws such as too many gadgets, safety was taken to such extreme that things took twice as long to do which could unsettle some horses.

I even got talking to the Chairwoman of the BHS a few years ago and she agreed with me.. I was gobsmacked unless she was just being nice lol

I got to agree qualifications mean nothing if you haven't got good teaching skills with horses and people. One without the other is hopeless.

I too have seen reg instructors that were more like text book robots and unqualified people just as bad or worse. yet I have also seen great instructors both qualified and unqualified.

Saying all that, to see someone teaching the wrong things is frustrating. One day that pupil will realise they are not learning anything and will eventualy go elsewhere.

There are so many people out their who THINK they can ride, teach etc, nothing you do or say will make them listen so its best to walk away. (unless you can see a dangerous accident about to occur)
 
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