Would you take lessons from someone who..

yes, if you like them and feel you are improving :) also as long as you're enjoying yourself because thats why we ride! :)
 
Yes, have done before & would again. I've met many good trainers/instructors with no formal bhs instructor quals, & several bhs qualified ones that are terrible. Most aren't, but qualifications alone don't mean much to me.
 
Yes. Provided they know what they're doing and my horse and I are progressing because of the lessons. To be honest I'd rather have someone who isn't qualified who has lots of experience than a newly qualified one, although I do appreciate that everyone has to start somewhere. :) x
 
Yes, I have weekly lessons with a very experienced but unqualified instructor (she has become one of my best friends too). Qualifications mean nothing unless you are a good teacher/coach too :)
 
Define qualified.

Surely qualified means able to teach you effectively. Some of the best teachers in the world probably aren't qualified with the BHS. If you mean someone who doesn't have their BHS exams, of course I would.

If you mean a numpty with nothing to offer me, then no.
 
Yes, definitely - I think experience is worth far more than BHS qualifications - in fact the phrase "BHS qualified" actually makes me look elsewhere.
The best instructor I ever had was someone who had years of experience, had done a lot of work with lusitanos in Spain, working classically and then moved back over here. She was amazing.
 
As long as i was learning from them and both muself and my horse are progressing with them then yes i would use them as at he end of the day a qualification is just a piece of paper in my eyes. it doesn't mean they are any good.
 
I had my riding and my confidence ruined by a BHS instructor :mad:. I cant really say I have checked instructors qualifications I have gone on previous recomendation and if I like them and their methods work for us not what piece of paper they have.
 
Yes and do.

I don't look for qualifications in an instructor, but for someone who is a successful and experienced rider and a clear, understanding and patient teacher, just like mine fortunately! :)
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Reason i asked was i am hoping to move back to the U.K asap (i currently live abroad) and have been told many times over here i had to "study" to become an instructor, however i have always believed that experience and understanding are much more important factors than a piece of paper. :)
 
My friend in an RI, in insurance terms she is "unqualified" even though she did some RI exams in a different non-UK country ... She doesn't seem to have any trouble finding business here, however she says her insurance is a lot dearer that it would be if she had BHS thins.
 
Yes, so long as they were either very highly reccomended or had an exceptional competition record (ie a top rider).

One thing to be aware of is insurance. So make sure you check that out!
 
I am a BHS qualified instructor and have used non qualified but competitive instructors that I have learned a lot from but these are competition riders.

I wouldn't use anyone unqualified to teach at the lower comp or basic riding levels. A lot of work and experience goes into passing your BHS exams, they are not easy to pass. But by having them my clients know I teach correctly and in a safe manner. Un qualified instructors may not know the basics correctly, they may be unsafe, might not have any insurance and do not have anyone above them you can make a complaint too.
If they do why don't they just do their exams anyway,if they are that good they will pass no problem, and at least then they can have cheaper insurance and advertise they are qualified.

Being qualified should be congratulated. Instructors bring their own personality to their lessons. Not everyone gets on with certain instructors, this is the same in any walks of life, if you didn't get on with an instructor it would be more to do with their personality than their BHS qualifications.
 
FreddiesGal said:
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Reason i asked was i am hoping to move back to the U.K asap (i currently live abroad) and have been told many times over here i had to "study" to become an instructor, however i have always believed that experience and understanding are much more important factors than a piece of paper. :)
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But one doesn't rule out the other - just because you get qualifications it doesn't mean you suddenly lose your understanding and experience, and you disqualify yourself from a whole lot of jobs and a whole circle of clients if you leave yourself without qualifications.
 
Yupp! I was talking to someone about qualifications to teach the other day :) and we came to the conclusion that the best instructor we have known is unqualified, but she truly was brilliant and had lots of knowledge :) however at a riding school I would want to know that they had qualifications.. As that's part of what you are paying for? :)
 
I really don't place that much in qualifications, but I did my ai purely to teach freelance for extra cash & insurance. However if you don't already have a reputation I think you could struggle to get clients on experience alone.
 
On the whole, yes, but, I think it would depend what level they are teaching at and what competition level they competed/compete at. I have a friend who is not officially qualified but has ridden round Badminton - that qualifies her as far as I am concerned. But someone who is not officially qualified, but competes at a local sort of level then probably no.
 
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i think the answer is NO

if you use unqualified in the widest sense

someone down the road with a hairy pony, tack bought off the internet, and claiming to be a self taught natural rider, operating for £5 an hour....
NO

someone who you have seen ride, or who can PROVE a successful competition background (not the local RC 2'3" when they were 9)
CONSIDER
being a good rider doesn't make you a good teacher
so have a lesson or two (or better still, go and watch a lesson or two) and if what they're teaching makes sense and you see an improvement
YES

BHS qualifications
same as above, watch some lessons
the BHS qualification is, sadly, not a guarantee of a good teacher
but at least they will have had some training in safety, first aid, child protection etc

BE, BD et al, qualified instructors
these will have strong proven riding and/or training backgrounds and concrete knowledge of competition riding,
so a good bet if you want training in a given discipline

to the original poster, now we know why the question was asked
i would suggest you consider getting your BHS PTT
purely because, in these times of litigation,
should anything happen you can prove that you have been trained and assessed as competent to teach by the national body

that doesn't mean you then have to teach BHS style, if (by any chance ;)) you should think there are better methods of teaching
(but word of warning - for purposes of exam trot out all the standard by rote stuff, the BHS does not appreciate anything invented/discovered any later than about 1950:))
 
Labruyere-lol at bhs stuck in 1950. I believe nowadays they are very modern. You no longer have to spin the cotton yourself during the exam to sew on bandages. And next year 'care of the three toed horse' is rumoured to be removed from the syllabus. However 'turnout for cavalry charges' will still be covered.
 
*sniggers at the BHS bashing*

Realistically current instructors bhs exams are the least of her qualifications and her methods are far from bhs :cool: :D but pony blimin well works nicely.
 
Id take a lesson off a binman if he could improve me and my horse :D
A BHS qualification does not mean youre guarenteed a good instructor, as in all walks off life some are good and some are not, but neither does a top rider guarentee a good coach. Word of mouth and do your research, if you can,watch them teach then talk to them, see if their style of teaching suits you, or if they can accommodate your style of learning. in the lesson, do they improve the horse and rider theyre teaching. One of the best coaches i had, had been taught classically and had a fantastic eye, never sat an exam in her life, but could explain, demonstrate and improve both horses and riders, thats good enough for me.
 
I would and have had lessons from non BHS qualified people. I do have an issue with AI's who appear to believe that this is the pinnacle of their ambition. I also question how much contnued training they have to have to maintain their status. An awful lot of the AI curriculum appears to be about their ability to ride (not always of a nature I would agree with) rather than their ability to teach.
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
I am a BHS qualified instructor and have used non qualified but competitive instructors that I have learned a lot from but these are competition riders.

I wouldn't use anyone unqualified to teach at the lower comp or basic riding levels. A lot of work and experience goes into passing your BHS exams, they are not easy to pass. But by having them my clients know I teach correctly and in a safe manner. Un qualified instructors may not know the basics correctly, they may be unsafe, might not have any insurance and do not have anyone above them you can make a complaint too.
If they do why don't they just do their exams anyway,if they are that good they will pass no problem, and at least then they can have cheaper insurance and advertise they are qualified.

Being qualified should be congratulated. Instructors bring their own personality to their lessons. Not everyone gets on with certain instructors, this is the same in any walks of life, if you didn't get on with an instructor it would be more to do with their personality than their BHS qualifications.
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Why should instructors/coaches pay the fortune the BHS charges to gain a string of qualifications the BHS deem are needed to teach ? Especially if they neither want or need them? Insurance can still be obtained and as myself and others have said, BHS doesnt always equate to good.
 
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