BHS Booking Terms

A well-fitted hat to current BSI or Euro standard must be worn.

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 written notification of an assessment date/centre. Candidates who do not receive written confirmation within 10 working days are asked to contact the Equine Excellence 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.

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/postponement should circumstances deem necessary. The Equine Excellence Department 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/postponement, the Equine Excellence Department 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 Equine Excellence Department is unable to reimburse costs incurred other than the assessment fee (e.g. 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 ice, snow or flood, assessments may be cancelled. While the Equine Excellence Department 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 Equine Excellence Department accompanied by the appropriate fee and medical evidence where applicable.

Cancellations and Transfers on Medical Grounds - All Assessments

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.

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/transfers excluding BHS Stage 5 and BHS Fellowship

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/transfer within four weeks of the assessment date will forfeit their assessment fee unless on medical grounds.

Other cancellations and transfers - BHS Stage 5 and BHS Fellowship

Cancellations

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

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

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.

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

Candidates may not take any practical assessment if they are pregnant.

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 Equine Excellence 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 Equine Excellence Department immediately.

All assessment results and certificates will be sent by post. Results will not be issued on the assessment day.

The Equine Excellence Department regrets it is unable to give out results over the telephone or by email, therefore please allow 10 working days for delivery before contacting the office.

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. However, 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 Equine Excellence Department. This must be completed and submitted with the relevant fee to the Equine Excellence Department 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.

You will be provided with a Skills Record, as part of your Welcome Pack, when initially booking any Stage 1 to 3 award in the BHS Equine Excellence Pathway. Should you lose your Skills Record please contact the Equine Excellence Department and we will replace this at a fee of £5.

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.

If you are using your own horse for an assessment you must have public liability insurance. Please note, BHS Gold membership includes public liability insurance (terms, conditions and territorial limits apply).

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, Equine Excellence Department, Abbey Park, Stareton, Kenilworth, Warwickshire CV8 2XZ or email pathways@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 Equine Excellence 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 Equine Excellence 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 Equine Excellence 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 Equestrian Qualifications Ltd (EQL), you can pursue your appeal further in writing to the awarding body (EQL). Please contact them directly to discuss your appeal.