Are You an Accomplished Equestrian?

Last updated on July 27th, 2014 at 10:11 pm

Are you an accomplished equestrian?  How do you know?  What equates “accomplished”?  My dream is to become an accomplished equestrian.  I often ask myself, how will I know when I get there?  I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and have come up with a couple of different ways that I could quantify my accomplishment.

The United States Equestrian Federation is the governing body for my sport.  I think they have an entire points and awards system.  Honestly though, I just looked at their website and could not figure it out.

Rated shows:  Horse shows are rated.  There are “B” shows and “A” shows.  “A” shows are bigger than “B” shows and supposedly have stiffer competition.  Nikki and I have only been to schooling shows, which are below “B” shows.

Again, I’ve just done some internet research on the subject and I cannot tell you how shows are rated or by whom.  The whole area of “points” and “rated shows”, etc. has always been and still is a slight mystery to me.

I’m sure my trainer probably knows – I’ll have to ask him to sit down and explain it to me.  I think I’ll feel more “accomplished” when I’m realizing success at “A” shows.

Instructor Certification:  I think I’m safe to say that most riding instructors are not certified in any way.  However, the American Riding Instructor Association (ARIA) does offer a certification program.  The requirements look fairly rigorous.  There are exams given throughout the country.  There are multiple different levels and specialty certifications available.

I could look into this.  I have taught horseback riding in the past and really enjoyed it.

I would definitely still be teaching if I had an appropriate lesson horse.  I do best with beginners and have had some success working with people who are scared of horses but want to learn to ride.

The British Horse Society also offers a training and certification program.  In my mind, the BHS certification is more widely recognized than the ARIA.  Let’s put it this way – I’d never heard of the ARIA until I did a bit of research for this post.  Earning an BHS certification has always lingered in the back of my mind.  The training program is difficult and expensive, and I think must be done under a BHS certified instructor, none of which are near me.

There is a horse owner’s certificate which may be completed through “distance learning”.  That may be a place to start.  Any certificate program may be too much of a financial undertaking and time commitment to ask of my family at the moment.  I can hear my husband now, “Why don’t you just go ride your horse first?”

Judge’s Card:  Become a horse show judge.  I actually took horse judging in college and could have been on the Horse Show Judging Team (yep, its a competitive sport).  Again, a quick internet search did not turn up a clear “how to become a horse show judge”.  It does look like a good way to get started is to do 4H shows.  I’m not sure I know enough at this point, nor do I have have enough show experience myself.  I think judging will have to wait awhile.

Those are a few of the ways I’ve thought about to quantify “accomplished equestrian”.  Of course, there’s always being able to jump a Grand Prix course or the Olympics, Rolex, or something like that.  Ha Ha Ha Ha . . .

What do you think makes an “accomplished equestrian”?  I’d love to know.

Danelle

(Danelle left 8 Women Dream in March of 2010 and is still working  on her dream is to become an accomplished equestrian)