Challenge Awards

The Challenge Awards are for anyone who wants to improve their horse knowledge or their riding skills, it doesn’t matter what previous experience they have with horses, or if they are a complete beginner.

To support coaches delivering the awards during Covid-19, we have amended our guidance regarding participants being BHS members. Currently, BHS membership is not required. 

There are no age restrictions on any of the awards.

For a small fee we will supply you with information booklets for each award, which you can distribute to participants upon registering for an award. Each information booklet will include an award checklist, which lists the skills and knowledge required to complete an award; think of it as a checklist of what the participant needs to do. Within the checklist will be space for you to date and sign when the participant has demonstrated competence for a practical task, or able to discuss a topic confidently.

There will be certificates issued for completion of a single award (for example, lungeing your horse bronze) and badges issued upon completion of combination of awards; so all your participants will receive recognition of their achievement; whether they complete all challenge awards or pick and mix individual awards.

There is a minimal fee to pay for these resources, to cover our costs.

This is completely up to you; there are no set time limits. As part of the support package to you, we will provide you with session plan templates for each award, to provide suggestions and ideas for content to include in your sessions. Following a session plan is not compulsory, and we encourage you to adapt them to suit your participants, the facilities, time of year and horses available to you. You should expect and plan to spend more time on some areas, or repeat sessions, to build participant confidence and allow them time to achieve the skills required for the task – remember there are no time restrains or time limits.

Following a session plan is not compulsory, and we encourage you to adapt them to suit your participants, the facilities, time of year and horses available to you. You should expect and plan to spend more time on some areas, or repeat sessions, to build participant confidence and allow them time to achieve the skills required for the task – remember there are no time restrains or time limits.

You, the coach can train and assess your participants for all of the awards.

The Riding Out Safely silver award was assessed via our Ride Safe assessment; however during Covid-19 this assessment is not being delivered. During this interim period the coach can sign off the Riding Out Safely information booklet for the participant to achieve this award.

For all challenge awards there is no need to organise a formal assessment day, instead the checklist should be signed off on a continuous basis in an informal setting, as and when tasks have been completed.

You will receive blank certificates with the booklets upon registering a participant, to be completed and handed out at the end of your course.

You must notify us when your participant has completed an award so our records are up to date.

For all awards we recommend you acknowledge your participant’s achievement with a small prize giving ceremony.

Once a participant has been awarded their final bronze, silver, gold or platinum award within the About the Horse or About the Rider series, we will send the badge for you to award to your participant. We recommend you acknowledge your participant’s achievement with a small prize giving ceremony.

To support coaches delivering the awards during Covid-19, we have amended our guidance regarding participants being BHS members. Currently, BHS membership is not required. 

We would encourage participants to join so they can gain the many benefits of BHS membership. Participants can join online or by calling the membership team on 02476 840506. 

BRC members will receive a 30% discount on their first years’ BHS membership.

If your participant is a member, please let us know so we can maintain accurate records.

Every member will be issued with a membership card approximately two weeks after joining which will have their membership number listed.

Currently, BHS membership is not required so you can deliver all of the awards to non-members.

Yes, absolutely! The awards are completely flexible and you and your participants can pick and mix the awards to suit their skills, experience and ambitions. You can begin at any award, at any level. The only exception to this is silver ride out safely must be achieved before moving on to ride out safely gold or platinum.

The challenge awards are to be delivered and assessed by BHS Accredited Professional Coaches and BHS Approved Centre coaches (Approved Centre coaches that hold the Stage 2 Complete Horsemanship are recommended to be supervised by a Stage 3 Coach in Complete Horsemanship).

You are eligible to deliver the challenge awards following a short introductory training session.

You can deliver the awards within a BHS Approved Riding Centre or on a freelance basis. If you are freelance, the awards can be delivered at the participant’s livery yard using the participant’s horse or horses (the livery yard does not have to be a BHS Approved Livery Yard), or at the British Riding Club grounds if delivering a course for a BRC group. We would advise you to check that the venue hosting the session has appropriate public liability cover in place for the hiring out/use of the facilities for the lesson. This information should be found on the policy schedule. Freelance coaches cannot deliver the Challenge Awards within non BHS Approved Centres.

If the participants do not have their own horses, or their horses are not suitable, the awards must only be delivered at a BHS Approved Riding Centre. If you are in doubt please contact us before you begin your course and we will be happy to advise further. Challenge Awards cannot be delivered within non BHS Approved centres.

The theory courses can be delivered in any suitable classroom type setting. If you are delivering them from a centre it must be a BHS Approved Centre.

Yes, there is no reason why you cannot deliver the challenge awards outside of the UK, with participants on their own horses, on a freelance basis. We advise that you check you have the necessary insurance in place depending on the country you are in. Just be aware that you may have to adapt some of the content based on different husbandry practices outside of the UK. 

If the participants do not have their own horses, or their horses are not suitable, the awards must only be delivered at a BHS Approved Riding Centre. If you are in doubt please contact us before you begin your course and we will be happy to advise further.

Challenge awards can be delivered at any BHS Approved Centre, where at least one member of staff has attended the introductory training. If your riding school is not BHS Approved, you will not be eligible to deliver the awards. For further information about becoming BHS Approved contact our Approvals team on approvals@bhs.org.uk, or call 02476 840509.

The introductory training (for coaches to deliver the challenge awards) is absolutely free.

There is a cost to purchase the resource packs, per participant, applicable at the time of registering your participants with us. This will all be explained in the introductory training.

It is up to you to set the fees for training and delivery of the challenge awards. We recommend you factor the costs of the resource pack into your course fees. The awards should easily be integrated into your clients every day riding or stable management lessons.

Yes! We have recently revised our price structure to allow registrations of  individual awards. This is explained during your coach induction session.

The costs for training and assessing participants for the challenge awards are set by yourself. We have kept our costs for resources as low as possible so we are unable to provide any further discounts. You may wish to offer discounts to different groups of clients at your discretion.

If you want to sign up to deliver the challenge awards there is a short introductory training session we ask you to complete. Once you have completed the training you will be listed on our website as a Challenge Awards Trainer or Challenge Awards Centre. If you are signing up your Approved Centre, we recommend that all coaches involved with the training complete the training, however this is not compulsory. The proprietor, or lead coach, completes the training as a minimum.

We currently have free video calls available to you for your training session:

Book a video call
This session is presented by a member of the Challenge Awards team and they will go through the entire process from registration to certification. Your video call will give you the opportunity to go through the process in  detail and ask any queries you may have. The call shouldn’t last longer than one hour. Click on the link below and search for 'Challenge Awards coach training'.

Book your session today

Once you have completed your induction session you will be eligible to deliver the challenge awards.

The introductory training is absolutely free.

There is a cost to purchase the resource packs, per participant, applicable at the time of registering your participants with us.

For the full list of costs, please refer to your coach handbook.

The EHKC will finish on the 1st April 2020, no more registrations will be accepted after this date. The course has been replaced with the Horse Knowledge Challenge Award, which is a theory-based course similar to EHKC.

The PRTs are still running, we have not set an end date for these tests. We will continue to review this.

Yes! If you and your clients feel the challenge awards are more suitable for them, you can stop the PRTs and begin the challenge awards at any time.

No. For a challenge award to be achieved, the award checklist must be completed and signed off.

The challenge awards are designed for horse owners, loaners, recreational riders and anyone else who wants to learn more about horses and develop their skills for personal achievement. When a participant completes an award they will be recognised with a certificate, but the challenge awards are not industry recognised qualifications for the professional market.

If you have clients that aspire to work in the equestrian industry we have dedicated professional pathways which will help them do just that. As an APC or Approved Centre you can offer training towards these qualifications too.

We are delighted to offer entry to the BHS Caree Pathway for challenge award participants who may wish to transition to our suite of professional qualifications.

Groom Pathway
Completion of the following challenge awards will provide entry to BHS Stage 2 Care* and Stage 2 Lunge*

• About the Horse - Silver

Groom with Riding Pathway
Completion of the following challenge awards will provide entry to BHS Stage 2 Ride*

• About the Rider - Silver

Complete Horsemanship Pathway
Completion of the following challenge awards will provide entry to BHS Stage 2 Care*, Stage 2 Lunge* and BHS Stage 2 Ride*:

• About the Horse - Silver
• About the Rider - Silver

Upon completion of the Stage 2 Care, Lunge and Ride, you can then progress to the Stage 2 Coaching within the Complete Horsemanship Pathway.

Ride Leader Pathway
This pathway is for those that wish to work in the equestrian tourism industry. The suite of professional qualifications will provide career opportunities from ride leaders through to equestrian tourism centre managers. The entry level qualification within the Ride Leader Pathway is Ride Out Stage 2. The entry requirements for Ride Out Stage 2 are:

• Riding out Safely – Gold (Challenge Award) (compulsory from 2020)

• Stage 1 Care or About the Horse – Silver
• Stage 1 Ride or About the Rider - Silver

*Please note the minimum age requirement for a participant to sit any Stage 2 Care, Lunge or Ride assessment is 16 years old and to be a BHS Gold Member.

If you have clients that are aiming for a career in the equestrian industry we recommend they sit BHS Stage 1 Care and Ride, instead of the challenge awards.

We believe this will enhance their training towards the Stage 2 and will be beneficial for their learning and professional career.

Please contact us at any time if you have any questions, or feedback, about the challenge awards. We have a dedicated email challengeawards@bhs.org.uk, or you can call the Education Team on 02476 840508.

All of the supporting documents for you will be listed on the BHS Cloud, for you to download at any point. If you require a login for this please email us at accreditedprofessionals@bhs.org.uk if you are a proprietor of an Approved Centre, please email approvals@bhs.org.uk for your details.

Yes! We have set up a closed facebook group for Accredited Professional Coaches only to encourage you to share ideas and good practice within the APC community. If you are not part of this group, contact accreditedprofessionals@bhs.org.uk and request to receive your invite.

If you are part of an Approved Centre there is also a closed facebook group for Approved Centres for you to join. If you are not part of this group, contact approvals@bhs.org.uk and request to receive your invite.

If you are an Accredited Professional Coach, and have opted to include the insurance within your membership package, you are covered to coach riders on their own horse. The Care, Custody and Control cover also allows you to handle that horse during demos, as appropriate. Approved Centres must abide by their own riding school insurance conditions.

For more information on your insurance cover provided within your APC membership, go to the BHS Cloud. If you do not have login details for this resource please email accreditedprofessionals@bhs.org.uk

We would also advise the coach to check that the venue hosting the session has appropriate public liability cover in place for the hiring out/use of the facilities for the lesson

Technically the Riding School License is required when tuition in riding takes place, this includes polo, ridden pony parties, hunter hirelings etc. If pony parties (whereby pony is not sat upon) were used as an example comparison, then a ‘stable management’ activity could fall under the requirement for an Animal Exhibits License. At the moment it will be at the discretion of the Local Authority interpretation of the Defra Procedural Guidance that they operate under. We would suggest that you contact your Local Authority and ask for written confirmation. If the Local Authority confirms in writing that a Riding School License is not required, you should contact SEIB for further guidance on 0345 4500634. If you have not opted for insurance cover with your membership, you should contact your own insurance provider.

Technically the Riding School License is required when tuition in riding takes place, this includes polo, ridden pony parties, hunter hirelings etc. If pony parties (whereby pony is not sat upon) were used as an example comparison, then a ‘stable management’ activity could fall under the requirement for an Animal Exhibits License. At the moment it will be at the discretion of the Local Authority interpretation of the Defra Procedural Guidance that they operate under. We would suggest that you contact your Local Authority and ask for written confirmation. You would, as a minimum, need to ensure you have relevant insurance to teach with your horse/s, on the basis that your horse may kick/injure a participant. If the Local Authority confirms in writing that a Riding School License is not required, you should contact SEIB for further guidance on 0345 4500634. If you have not opted for insurance cover with your membership, you should contact your own insurance provider.

This will vary from each Local Authority, as they issue the license. The advice given to local councils from the Government is available to read here www.local.gov.uk/open-business-lga-guidance-locally-set-licence-fees. Technically the Riding School License is required when tuition in riding takes place, this includes polo, ridden pony parties, hunter hirelings etc. If pony parties (whereby pony is not sat upon) were used as an example comparison, then a ‘stable management’ activity could fall under the requirement for an Animal Exhibits License. At the moment it will be at the discretion of the Local Authority interpretation of the Defra Procedural Guidance that they operate under. We would suggest that you contact your Local Authority and ask for written confirmation.

This would be acceptable as long as the arrangement is between the two participants and you (the APC) does not have involvement in selecting/pairing horse and rider. Both participants must ensure they have public liability cover as if there is a claim it may be directed to the owner or rider and the APC policy only covers the instruction element.

There is no cover for the hiring out of facilities/arenas etc, this should fall under the property insurance.

These activities are all acceptable as long as they are carried out during the lesson and not as a separate class, this is acceptable under the APC policy