31 August 2005
BDS proficiency tests
I would like to comment and to correct some misconceptions about what is going on in BDS proficiency testing:
On 31 Aug 2005 at 1:23, RecreationalEquineDriving@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> I also > like the idea of having different levels of instructors available such as I > think the BDS program tries to do.
That's not what the various levels are intended for. The proficiency tests are tests that people take for their OWN benefit and improvement, and that of their horses. They are not instructors' tests. They just evaluate proficiency in driving, road safety and horse management. They test that you know the safe ways to do things, and sometimes, that you know the reasons behind the traditional ways to do things.
The only difference between LHHIs is which optional units they took in their Level 2 (en route to Advanced and LHHI), eg: "horse driving trials; private driving; pleasure driving; driving for the disabled. There is a unit for pair driving which at level 2 is optional but becomes compulsory for those wishing to progress to the Advanced Certificate."
You either ARE an LHHI or you are not. There are no grades, such as there are for ridden instructors (Assistant Instructor, Intermediate Instructor, Fellow of BHS and so on).
BDS however do list people in their Year Book as capable of instruction if they have passed Advanced level test and First Aid and the teaching test. (More on this below.)
> However, in backwoods areas (like my own) where people are few and far between - regulations like that are either > going to be completely ignored or even protested.
These are NOT regulations, even here in Britain. Nobody HAS to take them, neither driver nor instructor. BDS are simply offering them to give a standard for people to aim at. There is much discussion at present as to whether it is worthwhile insisting on standards, for example on drives out should people wear hat, gloves, and apron? I believe the proficiency tests serve a useful purpose in maintaining standards and therefore helping horses. Nobody else does it for us drivers, we have made the tests up ourselves . SOME of the principles enshrined in them are now part of Government policy for the licensing of commercial driving businesses. (see
Of course if you pass Advanced (2 reins) and/or Advanced (4 reins) and the teaching test and First Aid test, and if you further become an LHHI, you can teach with some authority. You are " probably" better at teaching than someone who has not undergone the training-and-testing. I agree that there are some people who would remain poor teachers despite it, and others who are brilliant teachers without it.
But::: in Britain people may, can and do teach driving with no qualification at all behind them other than their own experience, and people may, can and do drive a horse with bog-all knowledge, skill or intelligence.
Incidentally i discusssed the LHHI with the Cumbria BDS area commissioner yesterday evening and asked her, "if someone (like a mutual acquaintance of ours) has passed Advanced (4 reins) and a teaching test and First Aid test, what more do they need to do to become an LHHI?" She didn't know, but is going to ask the mutual acquaintance at their next meeting, so I may have more info then!