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British Reining Level 3 Pilot Course

The Level 3 UKCC pilot course, which is being run in partnership with Endurance GB, is now well under way and the feedback from the participants has been extremely positive. 

British Reining has 8 candidate coaches attending this part-funded pilot scheme which will ultimately lead to British Reining being one of the first member bodies of the BEF to produce fully trained, Level 3 Coaches.

Course members include well known trainers such as David Deptford, Lee Rutter, Jeannine March, Shane Borland and Mary Larcom as well as Course Tutors Susie Anderson and Pauline Brimson.  Janet Burwood was a last minute entry following Andrew Fox’s departure to the States and if successful, Janet will turn professional in 2009.

All candidates have completed 3 days of training so far out of a 10 day programme.  The workshops are a combination of classroom activity and practical coaching, although during the course at Mendip recently, it was a question of dodging in and out of the rain to complete the practical coaching without getting wet!  As usual John and Lou’s hospitality was outstanding!  Lisa John, resident Mendip trainer,  was also a star, not only finding suitable western horses and riders but also coming to the rescue of the Endurance coaches and persuading some of the volunteers to turn into ‘up and down’ riders for the day!

Topics covered to date have been the role of a Level 3 Coach, identifying the various ways in which people learn and how to put them into practice in the arena, profiling riders and goal setting using the SMARTER principles and an in-depth discussion around the Long Term Athlete Development Plan (LTAD) which is an invaluable tool for recognising and developing talent at an early age without ‘hot housing’ or riders suffering burn out. 

Course Tutors, Larissa Whiley from Endurance GB, Susie Anderson and Pauline Brimson ensured that the candidate coaches took responsibility for their own learning and the candidates had to devise their own practical demonstrations, develop effective questioning techniques using each other as the ‘rider’, and coach out loud to the rest of the group during some ‘wet weather’ simulated reining runs on video.  There was plenty of time for fun and laughter during the activities and rumour has it that some candidates were still talking ‘shop’ until the wee small hours of the morning.

The next workshop is in February with further dates in March and April.  For further details on the UKCC workshops and courses being run by British Reining, contact Coaching Liaison Officer, Pauline Brimson.

What the candidates said…….

“I just wanted to say what an excellent job you have done. I really enjoyed the weekend and could definitely take many things home with me. I will do some research on motivation now!  Your work and way of teaching was fun, clear and very educating. I also enjoyed the technical exchange with the other trainers in training techniques. We all watched each other carefully to give honest and productive criticism.”   Jeannine March
“The penny finally dropped at around 4.30pm on the first day when we started coaching the reining runs – I finally realised what it was all about and how it was going to help me improve my riders.”   Lee Rutter
“Thank you for all the effort you are putting in, and thank you all for a great course last weekend, it was informative and fun. Thank you once again, see you in Feb”   Mary Larcom 
“Just wanted to say thank you to you and Susie for putting in so much hard work on our behalf whilst still managing to retain a sense of humour !!!! The course was a real revelation and gave plenty of food for thought for all the participants.”   Janet Burwood

“I have to admit I wasn’t looking forward to this, but it is the best course I’ve ever been on – I’ve really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it.”  David Deptford

UK COACHING CERTIFICATE - Newsletter, September 2007

British Equestrian Federation achieves National Endorsement in Coaching

The United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC) in equestrian coaching is now available via the member bodies of the British Equestrian Federation (BEF).

Following months of hard work, preparation and organisation by the BEF Coaching Development Action Team the Coaching Standards Group has now formally endorsed the UKCC Equestrian Coaching Certificates at level 1 and level 2.

The UKCC is a UK wide 5 level framework for endorsing qualifications, providing a framework for coaches working at all levels and in all environments. The overall aim is to raise the quality of coaching nationally at all levels and in all sports, the certificate is currently being implemented across more than 20 different sports to harmonise coaching levels and bring them into line with European standards. This will ultimately raise performance standards, improve the enjoyment of participants and provide a clear framework within which coaches will be able to develop their own skills and gain recognition.

The successful endorsement of level 1 and 2 in equestrianism is effective across a range of equestrian sports and recreational activities; this is due entirely to the co-ordination of the different strands of the industry. The BEF co-ordinated a joint working programme via its Coaching Development Action Team which has allowed all the sports to come together under this one endorsement.  

Andrew Finding, Chief Executive of the BEF said, “This is a fantastic achievement for our member bodies and thus the BEF as a whole. It could not have been achieved without the commitment and co-ordination of all the Coaching Development Officers. It is great to see our member bodies embracing these emerging awards, demonstrating what can be achieved when we work together as one industry. I must also thank Sports Coach UK, UK Sport and the Home County Sports Councils for their on-going support and assistance which has been invaluable.”   

Endorsement for level 3 has been submitted by the BEF and will be available in the near future.

I’m interested in applying for the UKCC - What happens now?

One of the major benefits to equestrianism of the UKCC is that it extends across all disciplines, via the member bodies of the BEF. These bodies include the Olympic sports, the Riding for the Disabled Association, the British Horse Society and the Association of British Riding Schools, amongst others. Whether a coach or potential coach is interested in gaining a nationally recognised qualification in coaching a specific sport or interested in being a general instructor there will be a member body to help them. A full list is available on the BEF website, complete with a list of contacts.

The certificate is equally relevant to current and aspiring coaches. For those considering embarking on a coaching pathway more information about the UKCC is available on the BEF website, including a full list of the member bodies with who they can register to work towards the qualification.  

For those already working and practicing as coaches who may or may not hold related teaching or instructing awards, any experience gained to date will be accredited and valued in the process of transferring to attain a UKCC award. Again the BEF website provides a full list of the member bodies who can facilitate this transfer process.

For qualifications in Scotland please contact your member body and/or the Scottish Equestrian Association.

Please visit www.bef.co.uk for more information and contacts for the Coaching Officers of all our Member Bodies.

kindly provided by Pauline Brimson

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UK COACHING CERTIFICATE - Newsletter July 2007

Even though it is hoped that the first equestrian Coaches will be going through the final assessment for the UKCC in 2007, it’s apparent that there is still a lot of confusion about how the system will work and what impact it will have on individuals, especially those who already have an existing instructor’s qualification.

To try and clarify some of these points and to clear up as many queries as possible, I’m prepared to travel around the country to various groups of individuals to talk to them about how the UKCC is going to affect their business or even simply horse owners who want to know how, or if, it is going to change the way the western instructors operate.

If you can gather together a group of people who are prepared to cover my travelling expenses (I have some airmiles I can use for some trips!) then I will put in my time for free.  This can be at someone’s house, a training facility or a village hall.  If this is something you are interested in then please contact me on (07860) 868022 or email me chloe276@aol.com.  Why not contact your Area Rep and see if they can organise a group?

The Coaching Certificate is here to stay so, why not step into the record books and be one the first ever UKCC qualified Western Coaches?

Pauline Brimson
Coaching Development Officer
British Reining

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UK COACHING CERTIFICATE

How will it affect me?

As the new Coaching Development Officer for British Reining, my job is to work together with the other CDO’s at the BEF (British Equestrian Federation) to prepare and approve the new five-level UK Coaching Certificate for the equestrian industry. 

The UKCC will provide an industry standard across a total of 31 different sports within the UK.  It will ensure that there is a clear pathway for all trainers/coaches to develop and enhance their coaching skills by means of ongoing support and a tiered award scheme to prove they have achieved a certain level of coaching.

The recommendations

For sports participants, it will enable any person to locate a qualified coach in their chosen field and be assured that the coach has been assessed as competent to deliver quality coaching at any particular level.  In addition, all qualified coaches will have undergone stringent first aid, child protection and health and safety checks.

At present, only member bodies of the BEF, (of which British Reining is the only western organisation) will be in a position to provide the necessary trainers and assessors for the UKCC examination process.  An independent moderator will oversee the whole examination process and the qualification will be awarded by Equestrian Qualifications Ltd (formally the examination arm of the British Horse Society).
There will be 5 levels of Coach, starting with a Coaching Assistant at Level 1, through to a Level 5 Coach who will be at the cutting edge of coaching practises.

The BEF is currently working on Levels 2, which for us will be a general western trainer and Level 3, who will be a trainer who has specialised in a particular discipline, ie Reining.  The technical syllabus will be specific to each discipline and a copy will be available to each candidate.  In addition, prospective coaches will need to be able show their ability to plan lessons effectively, have an understanding of the psychology of coaching and the different ways in which people learn and design and implement long-term/specialist programmes for their clients. 

All candidate coaches must register with their member body and for those who already hold a recognised training qualification, eg BHS exams or WES instructors approval, they will be able to include these in their Candidate Portfolio to help ‘fast-track’ their application.

I will be holding a database of all western trainers/instructors who are interested in the UKCC and as the structure formalises and dates are set for training days, etc these will be circulated.

British Reining will hold and publish a list of qualified Coaches at the various levels for anyone wishing to find a trainer in their area.

Western riding and reining in particular is at such an exciting phase in this country now and if we are to earn the respect and recognition that we think we deserve, then we need to have a more professional and formal structure for our trainers.  I’m sure that most western trainers in the UK will welcome the opportunity to have a recognised qualification and better opportunities to learn and train themselves.

For further information I can be contacted on chloe276@aol.com or (01622) 872301/(07860) 868022.

PAULINE E BRIMSON
Coaching Development Office – British Reining