BHS Booking Terms

Your hat should be fitted to you and meet the current safety standard.

It is strongly recommended that hats should have shock absorbing material down to the lower rim. Body protectors are mandatory in some assessments.

Candidates are strongly advised to read the guidelines on dress for assessments.

When booking a riding assessment, candidates are asked to provide correct height and weight on their booking form.

Please note, if it is suspected that a candidate’s weight is in excess of the centre’s weight limit, the centre may request that the candidate be weighed. Candidates who are found to considerably exceed their stated weight may be asked to withdraw from the assessment.

Candidates will receive notification of an assessment date and centre. This confirmation is sent by email, therefore please ensure a current email address is provided when booking an assessment. Candidates who do not receive confirmation within five working days are asked to contact the Education Department, as failure to arrive at an assessment may result in loss of fee.

Assessment bookings close at least 10 working days prior to the assessment date. Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.

Please note, we do offer a discount to our assessment fees if booked at least six weeks before the assessment date. Refer to our assessment fees for more information.

Candidates who are well below standard may be asked to retire from the assessment by an assessor to avoid risk of an accident to candidates and/or to horses.

All assessments are subject to cancellation, alteration or postponement should circumstances deem necessary. The BHS will make reasonable endeavours to provide candidates with 10 working days notice in the event of an assessment being cancelled, altered or postponed. There may be circumstances when it is not possible to provide 10 working days notice.

In the event of cancellation, alteration or postponement, the BHS will use reasonable endeavours to offer a candidate a suitable alternative booking. If the candidate chooses not to accept the alternative booking, a full refund of the assessment fee will be provided.

The BHS is unable to reimburse costs incurred other than the assessment fee (for example, travel, flight, rail tickets or accommodation) and candidates may wish to arrange independent insurance to cover these costs.

Candidates are advised that in the event of adverse weather conditions assessments may be cancelled. While the BHS will endeavour to notify all candidates, candidates are advised to call the assessment centre the day before if in any doubt.

If the assessment continues to run, candidates who fail to arrive for any reason (including the weather conditions), are liable to forfeit their fee. Candidates are advised to be aware of this when booking assessments during the winter months.

In all cases, written notification must be made to the BHS Education Department accompanied by the appropriate fee and medical evidence where applicable. All written notice should be made made by the candidate if they are 18 or over, or the candidate will need to provide written confirmation stating who the office can speak to on their behalf. Where a candidate is under the age of 18, the parent or guardian must act on their behalf.

Cancellations and Transfers on Medical Grounds

Cancellations

Candidates who are unable to attend an assessment due to medical reasons are required to forward a medical note no later than five working days after the intended assessment date. 75% of the assessment fee will be refunded on receipt.

Transfers

Candidates who are unable to attend their assessment due to medical reasons are required to forward a medical note no later than five working days after the intended assessment date, with a fee of £25 in order to transfer the booking.

Other Cancellations or Transfers

Cancellations

Candidates are required to give a minimum of four weeks written notice before the assessment date if they wish to cancel their assessment and obtain a part refund. Candidates will be refunded 50% of the original assessment fee.

Transfers

Candidates are required to give a minimum of four weeks written notice before the assessment date if they wish to transfer their assessment. Candidates wishing to transfer to another assessment will be charged 25% of their assessment fee.

Candidates wishing to cancel or transfer within four weeks of the assessment date will forfeit their assessment fee unless on medical grounds.

Covid-19 cancellations

Candidates withdrawing from an assessment due to a positive Covid-19 test or those have been asked to self-isolate should notify the Education Team in writing at the earliest opportunity and will be able to transfer free of charge to a future assessment date. Alternatively if there is not a suitable future date a full refund will be given, providing a confirmation letter of the positive test or the self-isolation requirement has been sent into the Education team no later than 5 working days from the intended assessment date. Failure to provide the evidence will result in the candidate forfeiting their fee.

Candidates in an area of restricted movement due to regional lockdown are advised they can still attend the assessment providing they are not displaying any Covid symptoms or have been requested to self-isolate. Candidates who feel they are unable to attend should notify the BHS Education Team in writing at the earliest opportunity to transfer free of charge or receive a full refund.  

In-house assessments (formally known as devolved assessments)

Cancellations (be either centre or candidate):

If any party involved requests to cancel the assessment, arrangements are to be made between the centre, candidate and the assessor and do not fall within the remit of the BHS. For all cancellations the centre must email the Education Team at the earliest convenience. If the cancellation is received within 14 days of the candidate registration form being submitted, the BHS will cancel the invoice and no admin fee will be payable. If the cancellation is received outside the 14 days of the candidate registration form, the admin fee will still be payable. It is at the discretion of the centre and assessor whether the candidate will forfeit the rest of the fee.

Transfers:

If a candidate or centre wishes to transfer the date of assessment this must be arranged between the candidate, centre and assessor. All transfers will need to be notified to the Education Team in writing at the earliest convenience with the new intended assessment date, however no further admin fee will be applied.

Assessments carried out in the UK and Ireland will be conducted in the English language, except where formal translation arrangements are in place. Candidates unable to communicate effectively in English (where no such translation arrangements are in place) may be withdrawn from their assessment for safety reasons.

Any language difficulty or special requirement should be declared at the time of booking.

Candidates who are pregnant should notify the Education Team in writing at the earliest opportunity.

A candidate may take any Care, Management or Coaching section of a BHS assessment whilst pregnant, (with the exception of delivering a lunge or lead rein lesson), subject to a specific risk assessment being carried out by the Lead Assessor.

If a candidate wishes to take either a BHS Riding or Lunge assessment (or the lunge or lead rein lesson of a BHS coaching assessment) whilst pregnant, they may do so on condition that written confirmation that they are fit to undertake the assessment is provided by a doctor/medical professional. Should a fit note not be provided, you will be withdrawn from the assessment and the cancellation policy will apply.

Assessors are unable to accept any medical certificates produced by candidates on the day. If a candidate wishes an injury or disability to be taken into account by the assessors, please read our guidelines for applying for a reasonable adjustment.

The BHS Education Department must receive an application for a reasonable adjustment at least four weeks before the intended assessment date. If a candidate is unable to submit a medical certificate in time, they should contact the Education Department immediately.

All assessment results will be emailed to the candidate within 10 working days from the assessment, via the email address provided at the time of booking. Any certificates due will be sent by post shortly after, please allow up to 28 days for the certificates to be delivered. Results will not be issued on the assessment day. The Education Department is unable to give out results over the telephone.

If you are registered for a BHS Assessment by your Equine College, upon completion of the assessment your results will be shared directly with the College. By accepting to the Terms and Conditions you have authorised the BHS to share the results with the third party who has registered you for the qualification. This does not affect your rights and freedoms as a data subject. For more information about how we use your personal information, please visit our privacy page; www.bhs.org.uk/privacy

The BHS, or the assessment centre, cannot provide supervision for candidates during breaks and lunch time.

It is a recommendation that any candidate below the age of 16 years should be accompanied by a responsible adult who remains at the assessment centre for the duration of the assessment.

For candidates aged 16-17, or a vulnerable adult, it is at the discretion of their parent or guardian.

The nominated responsible adult must sign the candidate in and out on the day of assessment.

The accompanying adult may not enter or observe the assessment environment. Please note, this may mean the accompanying adult will need to bring provisions for food and refreshments, as the assessment centre may not be able to provide this.

On the day of assessment, the assessor’s decision is final. If you consider your assessment was not conducted in line with syllabi requirements, you may wish to appeal against this.

To do so, please obtain an Appeals Form from the BHS Education Department. This must be completed and submitted with the relevant fee to the BHS within 30 working days of the assessment date.

The use of any recording equipment (by candidates, accompanying adults, or centre staff) is prohibited during any part of the assessment.

The BHS may record and use video footage of your assessment for quality assurance purposes. This information may be shared with BHSQ for the purpose of managing regulated qualifications.

You can purchase a Skills Record for £5 from the BHS Bookshop, or download a copy from our Resource Hub.

The Skills Record must be taken with you to your assessment day for any Stage 2 or Stage 3 award, as you must be able to evidence your training. Unfortunately, you will not be able to sit the assessment without the Skills Record and, as a subsequence, you will be required to forfeit your assessment fee.

Please check your name on your booking confirmation, as this is the name that will be on your career certificates. If you wish to purchase a replacement certificate, this will be charged at £25.

At your assessment you will be provided with an emergency contact form to complete and hand back to your assessor. 

Emergency forms must be completed at the start of the assessment. Failure to complete this form will result in the candidate withdrawing from the assessment and forfeiting their fee.

To see our Privacy Notice, or if you need any further information, please write to us; BHS, Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2XZ or go to: www.bhs.org.uk/privacy

How to submit a complaint

If you feel there are grounds for a complaint, we request you write to us within 30 working days of the incident. Please submit your complaint in writing to: The British Horse Society, Education Department, Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2XZ or email education@bhs.org.uk.

Although we welcome any feedback verbally, we regret we cannot accept a formal complaint by telephone.

When submitting a complaint, please ensure you include the following details:

• A description of the incident to include relevant details, such as date and title of assessment and names (if known) of any individuals involved
• Your contact details. Please note, if we need to contact you, this will be during normal office hours
• Your BHS membership number, if you are a member of the BHS

We aim to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within seven working days.

How your complaint will be investigated

Your complaint will be investigated internally, contacting all relevant parties. Sources of evidence include, but are not limited to assessors, stakeholders, riding centres and their staff. Upon receipt, the evidence is subject to a thorough evaluation. As part of this process, a candidate’s/learner’s name may be disclosed, confidentially, to the assessor or person/s concerned and to any other relevant third parties in order for us to complete a full investigation.

On conclusion of our investigation, all parties will be informed in writing of the outome. We aim to complete this process within 30 days of receipt of your complaint.

Reasonable steps will be undertaken to rectify any faults identified during the investigation.

What is an appeal?

An appeal may be lodged when an individual feels that BHS policies and procedures were not adhered to with regards to decisions made by the BHS Education Department. If the individual is under 18 years of age (or under 16 years of age if residing in Scotland), an appeal can be lodged by the individual’s parent or guardian.

All appeals are logged, monitored and investigated internally. We will handle any appeal confidentially and sensitively.

You may wish to make an appeal against a decision made by the BHS if you feel that BHS policies and procedures were not adhered to due to one or more of the following reasons:

• You believe you were discriminated against on the grounds of your age/race/gender/gender reassignment/disability/pregnancy/religion or beliefs/sexual orientation/marriage or civil partnership
• The manner in which your assessment/investigation was conducted put you at an unfair disadvantage in comparison to the other candidates/parties
• Your result was inconsistent with the requirements set out in the relevant assessment criteria (for example, you believe you were asked to complete tasks or answer questions not relating to the criteria)
• Your reasonable adjustment or special consideration application was not managed appropriately and failed to consider the correct provision of adjustments required
• The outcome of your disciplinary procedure did not correspond to the breach that was made to the Code of Conduct (this relates to Accredited Professional Coaches only)

How to submit an appeal

If you wish to appeal, we request you complete an Appeals Form and send this along with an appeals fee of £100 to the BHS Education Department within 30 days of the assessment date or within 10 days of the disciplinary or reasonable adjustment outcome.

Although we welcome any feedback verbally, we regret we cannot accept an appeal by telephone.

We aim to acknowledge receipt of your appeal within seven working days.

How your appeal is investigated

Your appeal will be investigated internally, contacting all relevant parties. Sources of evidence include, but are not limited to assessors, stakeholders, riding centres and their staff. Upon receipt, the evidence is subject to a thorough evaluation. As part of this process, a candidate’s/learner’s name may be disclosed, confidentially, to the assessor or person/s concerned and to any other relevant third parties in order for us to complete a full investigation.

Recommendations from the investigation are communicated to the relevant BHS manager. The manager will determine whether the decision made with regards to your assessment, reasonable adjustment or disciplinary procedure was concluded fairly, appropriately and in line with policy and procedures.

Should the appeal conclude that there has been a breach of our policies and procedures the appeal will be upheld and reasonable steps will be undertaken to rectify faults. Conclusions and corrective actions are communicated across relevant stakeholders and organisational learning activities will be undertaken to prevent reoccurrence. Your appeal fee will be refunded in full when an appeal is upheld.

On conclusion of our investigation, all parties will be informed in writing of the outcome. We aim to complete this process within 30 days of receipt of your appeal.

Further line of appeal

If your appeal is not upheld, and it relates to a qualification awarded by the BHS you can pursue your appeal further in writing to the BHS Director of Education.

Your appeal will be investigated by the Director of Education or this may be passed to an external appeals group appointed by the BHS.

If your appeal is not upheld, and it relates to a qualification awarded by British Horse Society Qualifications (BHSQ), you can pursue your appeal further in writing to the awarding body (BHSQ). Please contact them directly to discuss your appeal.