I’ve been asked to lend my horse for a C3 dressage specialty rating. I can’t find anything online about what this entails or what the standards are.
The horse is a very competent 3rd level with all the PSG, and I doubt it’s that high, but I’d like to know what someone unfamiliar with the horse is going to be asked to do.
Thanks in advance if anyone has this info.
I will go look it up. I am guessing it is all there, you likely have to be a member of pony club to see it.
Be back in a bit.
That PDF works. Thank you.
Just have to say… THANK YOU for considering lending your horse… As a I was only able to get to the rating I got to because people were willing to lend me a horse…
Your pony should be in good hands… the basics for C3 riding on the flat are similar to 1st level but, I would honestly say a very soft/generous 1st level. W/T/C, with demonstration of basic working & medium gaits, some figures, some “lateral” work (shoulder in/fore, leg yields) – the horses play their part but in the riding portion the instructor is really testing the rider’s knowledge of basic flat training. I would not expect the pony to be ridden heavily or hard, the riding portions are typically short with lots of talk-breaks in between while they quiz the riders.
It sounds like this might be for the ‘strange mount’ portion? It’s been a while since I was in PC myself, so I could be wrong…
No, it’s actually for someone’s mount to take to the rating location as hers is unrideable at the moment, which means he will also be swapped out to another rider. As this is the dressage speciality, it sounds like the riders need to do 1-3, or a 2nd level TOC. He’s capable and simple to ride, so I am not worried about him, I just wanted to ensure what could/could not be asked for so I could specify anything I did not want him used for.
Gotcha. :encouragement:
From what I remember, the strange mount/swapping portion is not long. You show up, tack up & ride your own horse for the bulk of the exam, most of the discussion will happen on your own horse; once you’ve done all the various movements the examiner asks you to do, you swap mounts and do some very basic stuff on the new horse. I borrowed a horse for the jumping phase for one of my ratings, and for the flat in another – I don’t remember spending more than 15m on the strange mounts. You untack/handle your own horses otherwise.
C3s are held at the “national level” (sorry if you already know this), which means a national examiner will be overseeing everything. Unless they’ve had a rating with this examiner before, the riders rarely know the examiner, and they do keep an eye out on handling/horsemanship - which is a big fundamental of the C3 and PC in general.
You are also allowed to set certain parameters, he is your horse. IE if you don’t want him to do the field portion of the test, it’s perfectly okay to say he can’t, and the organizers/examiner will respect that.
I have lent my horse for HA ratings back in the 90s. I also borrowed horses for ratings. They are pretty controlled settings and this test seems easier than the C3 exam I went through back in the day.
Normally when they do the switch on a different horse, the examiner likes to put the person on an opposite type of horse the candidate is use to riding. And as it was already stated, it’s not long for the switch ride portion.
The actual test sheet is proprietary, so you need a login to see it on the pony club site. Ask the candidate to send you a copy. The test will follow the test sheet pretty darn closely. The examiner will not ask anything that isn’t expressly listed on the sheet. They may allow the candidate to repeat an exercise if the first try didn’t go according to plan, but that’s about as far as they will divert from the sheet.
yes, thanks for lending your horse. I was given the opportunity to ride so many wonderful horses as a pony clubber.
Yes, thanks for lending your horse! More on the switch ride: the examiners will never put a candidate on a horse that they think they can’t handle. I’ve been to three traditional C3 ratings in the last 3 years, and in at least two of those cases, the more difficult looking horses were NEVER given to the kids who looked like they weren’t doing too well. Unless you have a real reason, I would try not to restrict what your horse can be used for at the rating. Not being available for all parts makes it difficult on the candidate because they will need to bring a second horse to do those things on. They can’t just not demonstrate the required things. Between the level of the kid who is a C3 candidate, and the oversight of the national examiners, I don’t think you have anything to worry about as far as the care of horse goes.
It’s dressage only, so they won’t jump him (which is good, because he sucks tremendously at that). I’m still deciding about the switch rider. It’s perhaps unkind, but there’s more than a few pony club “riding centers” here whose students I wouldn’t let anywhere near my horse.
I tend to agree with you on how rigorous the testing at some riding centers can be, but are the kids you’re seeing at the C2 level? Most of the kids that pass club level ratings a little too easily never progress to the point of going for their C3. In my region, we have 3 riding center pony clubs, and there is only one C3 at any of them, and it is a girl with her own horse, at her own house, but she lived near the riding center so joined it. At the three C3 tests I attended, I think she was the only one who was a member of a riding center PC. I also didn’t see any scary riding at any of them, and those that were unlucky enough to switch to my somewhat difficult horse did a pretty good job with her. That said, you won’t screw up your horse’s rider if you don’t allow the switch ride, you will just make it a little inconvenient for the examiners because there will be one less horse than candidate. I would encourage you to trust the examiners to pick the right rider for your horse for a 15 minute ride, but in the end, it’s your choice.
@soloudinhere I have to agree with your worries about riding centers and with the great response that @Mango20 gave.
I haven’t seen the candidates, necessarily - but I have seen the instructor/owners of the riding centers at clinics and horse shows and given their level of capability, I can’t expect their students to be any better.
The student I am considering lending my horse to is unfortunately a member of one of these, but she’s a pretty kind rider - I do not think she would pass the C3 without the use of my horse, but I’d also be very hesitant to let any of her barnmates ride him. That said, he can probably survive anything for 15 minutes, and if anything, they would have gotten a boon as this horse is a schoolmaster extraordinare and could certainly do first level with a monkey riding.
@Duramax is a National Examiner for Pony Club. She can answer any questions you have about what to expect re your horse’s experience as a loaned horse.
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