Grading riders for their Grade One Certificates.

I was asked just before Christmas to go to Taunton in Somerset to an  RDA group there to assess some riders for their RDA grade one proficiency tests, there was several riders to assess, some were hoping to do their horse care for the grade one,so I was there for most of the day.

The school had been set out in shapes using cones,poles. There was also a row of uprights for bending through down one side. There were four shapes, a circle,square,triangle and a rectangle.

 

The riders were asked to do various things using this layout.
 

1. They were asked to chose a shape and then go and stand in the shape.

2. They were asked to go to one shape and the go to the next shape and so go until they had been to all of them and also weaves through the uprights.

3. They were asked to walk around the outside of the shapes as close as they could without going over the poles.

4. When they stood in the shape they where asked a horse care question.

5. A bucket was placed in each shape and the riders were given an item to be placed in the bucket of the shape they were told to go to.

6. If the shapes were made using cones only, the riders could bend their horses through them.( The circle was made of cones.)

If there was pictures of different items,these could be put in the buckets and when the riders stop by the buckets in the shapes they could pick one out and say what it is.( This would be a good way of the riders showing that they know their horse care.)

All these helped show the riders were up to standard to pass the riding grade one.

Which was to sit happily and maintain a balanced position in walk,changes of direction and halting. They also need to be able to show a exercise that they knew.

Some of the riders were able to answer the horse care questions for grade one, those that I asked all knew the answers, there seemed to be a competition between some of them to see who could answer the questions the quickest.

All the riders passed their grade one and those taking their horse care also passed it.
 

All the riders received certificates and badges, their parents and carers were proud. There were lots of photo's taken with riders standing by their ponies.
 

I went the following week to grade the riders that were unable to be there this week.