Careers
What makes a good riding instructor? Changing career path Working from home Becoming a professional groom
QI’m interested in taking my instructor exams. What makes a good riding coach? Leah Montague, Fishguard Alex says... A great coach will inspire, instil confidence, motivate and encourage others to achieve their goals and ambitions. A successful coach also embeds the philosophy of putting the welfare of the horse at the heart of everything they do — a consideration every coach should put at the forefront of their coaching practice. You will have a compassion and dedication for horses that enables you to get the best out of the partnerships you build between riders and horses. Coaching is ultimately an outdoors career so you must be ready and willing to work in all weathers and spend a long time on your feet. As you’ll no doubt already know, horses are unpredictable animals and not all exercises will go to plan, so you need to be adaptable and able to think on your feet while remaining calm and composed under pressure. Communication skills, of course, are vitally important for a coach as you will be talking a lot during your lessons. You will be expected to be able to break down and discuss instructions and exercises, encourage feedback from your riders, celebrate their achievements and offer feedback on a continual basis. You will also have an awareness of varying learning styles so that you can adapt your coaching to suit each individual rider’s needs. Stepping stones All this might sound a bit daunting, but try not to be overwhelmed. You don’t need these skills to begin your training towards being a coach — they will develop, along with your confidence, as you progress through the Coach in Complete Horsemanship Pathway. If you have a passion for horses and an enthusiasm to learn, all the other successful qualities will develop as you build your experience and gain your instructor qualifications. Even once you have achieved your qualifications, you should continue your professional development. This could include attending workshops, conventions or gaining higher level BHS qualifications to ensure you keep up to speed with new research and advances in coaching and equestrianism. How we care for horses, coach riders and train horses has changed and progressed in huge steps forwards in the last decade, so to be successful you need to keep up with new ideas and technology.