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.

BHS membership is not required for any participant. 

There are no age restrictions on any of the awards. Our Challenge Award products have guided age ranges, but this is just a guide. We encourage you to work with the participant or their parent/guardian to decide on the best product for them:

- Pony Stars. Our Junior Challenge Awards for the under 12s

- Horse Explorers. Challenge Awards for 12-18 year olds 

- Challenge Awards. Our awards for over 18s

This depends on the product you are delivering. There are different resources for Pony Stars than for Horse Explorers and Challenge Awards. The resources and rewards available for participants, and when to reward them, will be discussed during a coach information session, or you can find out these details in the relevant Coach Handbook (available from the Education Team). 

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 on an ongoing, informal basis. 

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.

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).

Formal training is not compulsory, but we encourage you to attend an information session before you get started to familiarise yourself with all there is to know. See the top of this page for the list of dates.

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 any Challenge Awards product 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 only awards (currently as part of the Challenge Awards, the Horse Health and Horse Knowledge Part One and Two are theory only) can be delivered in any suitable classroom type setting, or online. 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 information sessions (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 information session.

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.

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 information session we encourage you to complete. If you are signing up your Approved Centre, we recommend that all coaches involved with the delivery of the awards attend the session, 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, see the top of this page for further details.

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.

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 Career Pathway for challenge award participants (Horse Explorers and Challenge Awards only) who may wish to transition to our suite of professional qualifications.

Groom Pathway
Completion of the following Horse Explorers/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 Horse Explorers/Challenge Awards will provide entry to BHS Stage 2 Ride*

• About the Rider - Silver

Complete Horsemanship Pathway
Completion of the following Horse Explorers/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 (Horse Explorer/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 APC Hub, for you to download at any point. If you require the details for this please email us at accreditedprofessionals@bhs.org.uk .

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