Took it years ago and Thinking of taking it again to complete AI.

What standard are they looking for?
What is exam format for riding?
What books and vids do you recommend for riding section especially?

Will probably be able to ride weekly at exam centre.

Berkshire college of Ag to run course in spring has anyone done stage 3 there?

Appreciate any feedback.

for the standards see the the syllabus its all a bit of a mystery to me exactly what they are looking for so perhaps you could have a lesson with and examiner?
the format of the riding for me was ride one horse on the flat, warm it up, discuss your findings with the examiner, go away and work to begin to improve, swap horses, assess and discuss findings, work towards more improvement riding without stirrups at some point.
for the jumping, warm up your horse, ride progressively through grid, discuss your findings and how you will ride the course, ride the course.
swap horses
xc - warm up over one fence, ride course, discuss how it went.

i used the hazel reed stage 3 book and the bhs stage 3 video and they helped me a lot!! good luck with your exam

Hi Lis

Thanks for input.

I really need to get the book and video and read/watch.

How was the jumping phase, were the jumps upto full height as per the syllabus?

I hope to be able to start working towards it next year.

I also need to find somewhere where I can get some teaching in, but this will be difficult as I work 3 days a week as a graphic designer and have to juggle family with teaching.

Thought would try to do occasional relief teaching, will put out feelers in new year.

Anyhow thanks for your support, don't you think this site is just brilliant, especially when you don't have the luxury of doing this full time and are not at training yard.

Kind Regards

yes ive found this site to be a great help - i only work at a yard part-time, as i am my third year of uni.
i found that the show jumps in the stage 3 were up to height, so if you aren't used to jumping that height get some practice in as it tended to be the jumping that people failed on. the xc fences at the centre i did my exam at were up to height, but having talked to other people about this, it seems to depend on the centre - one girl did her 3 at YRC and said the xc fences were relatively small.
are you planning on doing your ptt next year also? good luck with all your exams, i know what it is like to be juggling quite a few things! i did my stage 2, 3, and ptt, and first aid at work this year, and it is such a major relief to finally relax for a little while, and just concentrate on my own horses just waiting for my log book now to begin recording my hours as i only did my ptt on friday!
let us know how things are going!!

Thanks for input re jumps.

Think that will be my achillies heel/need most work.

Bit of a woos jumping, I think you get like that as you get older and have family to think about, don't bounce so good.

I'm ok if I know the horses and have jumped the fences before. Not the bravest of souls!

Think thats why I like teaching beginners, nervous riders and disabled. Have an empathy with them. Not a competition beast me.

I'm lucky that I already did my Stage 1 and 2 HK&R in 1985 and 1986, just after they changed to the new sylabus from the horsemasters (don't spose you remember that, Evelyn G will though, have watched her postings with interest). Did PPT in 1986 too. Took stage 3 in 1987 and passed HK&C but failed riding, stiffness (found out a few months later the pain I got in my hip was actually a back problem) but I thought might be as well to try again. Although stage 3 has changed quite a lot since I did it. You had a three year limit to pass riding section to get whole stage III then and I remember wearing spurs at least for flat work and riding in double as well, both of which I understand are not done now!

But it would be good to have international level 1 passport.

Bit of a shame about the 500 hours though, as I'm sure I've already taught that many hours at the time I took my stages (between 1985-1987) I taught P/T every weekend at local Riding school, this paid for my riding and exams and gave me valuable teaching experience.

Have taken equine first aid and child protection course in last few months and BHS have sent me my BHSPTC certificate (all you got when I took PTT was a small slip of paper, until you passed AI you were a non-entity, new system seems much better). Will go on register in Jan.

Appreciate your response, keep writing.

Optional spurs, riding in a double bridle removed (though i did still practice this before my exam on a number of occassion so i could talk about it action with more experience in the care), and no ride and lead! And the introduction of a grid in the show jumping!
Yes the horsemasters certificate is a little before me, (i'm 20, so i think my greatest difficulty while gaining my hours is getting people to look over the fact that i am quite young, and trust me because of my qualifications!) but have been told about it by an AI friend who got his qualifications in the 80's!
I have got my first aid at work certificate, so I just need to find where to do a child protection course now - its just a matter of sitting in on a talk, am i right? I've asked the BHS to send me details of becoming a registered instructor, and I am debating if it is worth my while registering before January as i know that i will have to pay twice!? Received an email yesterday though saying that as a PI i am entitled to run Horse Owners Certificate courses - very chuffed!!

Where are you thinking of doing your training/exam Ghily? I had some lessons at the exam centre that i did my 3 at, and it was a great help at putting me at ease. the horse i got for my sj in the exam was a complete unknown to me, but i had already ridden my xc horse over part of the xc course.

I don't know where I'm going to go from here. I need to find a yard that can accomodate me for stage 3, rather than one that wants me to fit in with them ie doing whole syllabus as I only want riding bit.

I'm not riding at the moment as I have a long standing back problem, but I help with RDA and have found a RDA/BHS instructor who is willing to take me on and work with/round my back. They won't have space till the new year sometime, so I'll wait for them to phone.

Once they have sorted me out I'll work towards stage III and try and find an exam centre. I've thought about/got details from Wellington (as go there once a week to help with RDA anyway and I took my 2 and PTT there) and also Rycroft is close.

But, I was looking on the web and Berkshire College of Ag. seem to be doing a 6 week parttime course saturdays from 23rd feb. for stage 3. Although I can't make the feb course as will be in Finland when it starts. I was going to contact them for details and see if they are doing one later in the year.

I did my child protection course last week. It was very interesting and made you think its all about your duty of care to the client especially if children, and how to be aware and deal with possible abuse. Also covered asking people before you touch them, you know if you want to adjust their position. etc. I would recommend it and its only 20 quid.

I will apply to go on register in Jan.

You can email me if you like, I've attached my address.

Regards