https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/pro-con-allowing-amateurs-to-teach-beginners/
I had to laugh at the con argument that up down should be left to professionals. She hasn’t seen many of the self proclaimed professionals out in hunter/jumper land I guess. 
Lol. Nancy Jones who has owned a boarding and training barn for 45 years, has been an R judge for 20 years and has basically made a ton of income off horses for decades but is somehow still an amateur is arguing against people teaching up/down lessons so they can afford to attend a few shows here and there in the billionaires playground of the 2024 horse show world.
If you think about it, 20 hours of actual teaching is a lot and is probably not far off what many professionals allocate to teaching (vs. riding). I think it will be abused - it’s a slippery slope and people aren’t going to stop at the w/t riders. But, I also think that it is set up so that people abuse it are rolling the dice, because the record-keeping requirement is pretty specific and will be a pain, and any non-compliance with that is a per se violation.
I do wonder where they came up with that number.
That does seem like a quite high number for those hours not counting as being a professional.
I think they picked Nancy b/c they couldn’t find a real amateur who held a con opinion. A lot of pros don’t want to or don’t have time to teach up-down lessons, so let an amateur do it and then pass the student off when ready. This will keep costs down for the rider b/c the amateur won’t charge as much, and it will provide more opportunities for people to get into the sport because there will be more lessons available, which is much needed.
Yes, people will abuse the system, but the pros outweigh the cons here.
I would guess it is more likely that lots of ammmies hold a con opinion, but they do not want to be interviewed about it.
Pretty much every ammy I have discussed it with has a con opinion for the reasons most assume (it makes it easier for that person who has never followed the rules to continue to not follow the rules).
I assume the ammy teaching up down lessons at a lesson barn is making the barn the same amount as everyone else is.
All the lesson barns that I know of have a set lesson price for all of the instructors (with the exception being that sometimes the owner or highest level trainer costs more).
When I taught High School, I coached two sports - baseball and equestrian. I was paid for both. No one in baseball would consider me a professional. In the equestrian world it would set off a heated long debate.
Partially because I doubt you were trying to compete in an ammy only baseball division somewhere.
It is kind of like comparing apples to bricks, unless you were also not trying to compete in an ammy riding division and if you were not trying to compete in an ammy riding division there is no real point.
Yes I did. Nobody cared that I was being paid to coach high school baseball. My high school baseball coach who is in the NJ sports hall of fame played amateur softball and baseball while he coached. A pro in most sports is defined as someone who makes a living in the sport or plays for a professional franchise.
As a current h/j ammy that shows about 8 times a year, I am in favor of this rule change. I did a stint in my early 20’s as ‘pro’ so I could afford to stay in the saddle myself. I was teaching primarily up/down lessons, and definitely under 20 hrs a week. I did follow the rules at the time and changed my status with USEF to pro. When I finally scraped together the money to take my quirky care lease gelding to my first A/AA show in many years, I had to miss school so I could show during the week in the open divisions. Years later I was able to petition to reinstate my amateur status.
I would never begrudge the ammy that is trying to carve out a place for themselves in this sport that feels like it gets more expensive by the day. In no way do I think that teaching beginner riders makes YOU a better ride. I think I was a darn good beginner instructor, but it did nothing for my own skills in the saddle.
I can easily envision a situation where a trainer has too many lessons on her schedule and would happily pay one of her capable ammy riders to cover some intro lessons for her. This benefits both parties- the intro lessons could be a pipeline to leasing/showing clients at some point and the ammy gets a little extra money to pay for her own horsey habit. Again, I don’t see how teaching beginners makes him/her a better rider themselves.
Exactly. You can be a breeder and an amateur, a judge, you can own 10 boarding barns and entirely make your living off horses and be an amateur. You can develop and sell youngsters and be an amateur. Teaching up/downs is not a high skill job, certainly less skilled than any of the above.
I think it’s a good idea…and could go even further. Why only “basic beginner level” riders? You can be a solid and competent instructor to riders a ways beyond that without in any way being a professional rider. They’re two different skill sets, in my opinion.
I’m not sure where to draw the line and would leave that to people with more knowledge than I have. I can use myself as an example though–I teach beginner/intermediate lessons, including coaching at local (unrated) shows, to help subsidize the cost of my own two horses. Even though I teach well under 20 hours a week and am renumerated at a rate that in no way resembles a livable salary (the clients are not “mine”, and pay the barn, not me), nor do I school other riders’ horses or participate in sales, I’m considered a professional. It doesn’t currently affect me much as my greenbean isn’t out there showing in the hunters yet. But I laugh to think that I’m lumped in with actual professional riders–like old trainers of mine–just because I can teach someone to jump a crossrail course safely and correctly.
I realize there may be too much gray area for cases like mine but…the distinction between amateur and professional veers into feeling like classicism as this sport gets increasingly expensive. And the distinctions seem somewhat arbitrary, as Amberley points out above.
do you know how many times I coached soccer. I am NOT a professional.
I don’t think teaching makes anyone a pro. And I wish we would do away with this archaic thinking. It should just be structured by horse/person combos and point and you move up the levels. The only thing this current thing helps is people who are monied who get to continue to do this full time hours but don’t have to take $ for it because of said money.
I mean honestly is Karl Cook even a pro? Aren’t they all his own horses?
I believe the horses belong to his mother, but it’s not as obvious since she has a different last name.
Karl Cook is a professional according to USEF.
From the article (con opinion) :
“Will there be regulators in place to monitor safety, horse welfare and the actual number of hours? If the amateur is teaching at several barns, will one professional be in charge of overseeing all the lessons, even if not at the home barn? Does USEF have the manpower in place or the inclination to actually oversee this program?”
Does USEF have “regulators” in place to monitor safety and horse welfare at training barns now? Who knew? Why would that be necessary?
I care more about USEF having the resources to oversee Safe Sport.
@Willesdon, Are people required to have BHS credentials to give “up-down” lessons or only lessons at a more advanced level?
Hmm. We don’t really have quite the same heated debate about “amateur” vs “professional” in UK equestrian sport. Amateurs (who make their main living at something other than horses) competing against professionals (who make their main living riding and training horses) is to be found in most/all disciplines, even at the highest level. True amateurs run round 5* Badminton, there are even amateurs in top horse races (though usually National Hunt). With the exception of racing, there really isn’t enough money available in horse sports to support many professionals. Professional Event riders are a relatively recent phenomenon, since only the 1990s or so. Curiously, the most heated argument I can recently recall was professional Event riders running in unaffiliated competition where there were some good prizes and the amateurs were really up in arms about it! In BE Events it is simply normal that some riders are pro and the most amateur - but it is the horse that moves up the levels rather than the rider. The one discipline where “pro v am” status is regularly debated is Showing where presentation and ring craft is vital and the pro riders probably have the edge but amateurs frequently do still win. It is also the most subjective equestrian discipline.
To answer your question about qualifications and teaching. The BHS is constantly evolving and updating it’s qualifications. Currently, the system runs from Stage 1, basic horsemanship and riding skills easily achieved by a large number of people, up to Stage 6 which is the BHS Fellowship and extremely difficult to achieve. It is possible to focus on riding, or horse care or coaching as one progresses upwards. The language is no longer about “teaching”. The old Assistant Instructer (BHSAI) is Stage One and many people take it out of personal interest, such as they own a horse, they want to own a horse, even to fill the gap between finishing school and going on to university, or they take it as the first recognised step in an equestrian career.
It is not compulsory or a legal requirement to have BHS qualifications (or Association of British Riding Schools qualifications, also a system of education) to teach riding and riders. Anyone can offer lessons. BUT. Riding Schools must have a licence from the Local Authority, issued after an annual inspection, and adequately qualified staff helps in that process. BUT insurance premiums for Riding Schools are pretty brutal and having professionally qualified staff usually makes them cheaper. Accredited Trainers and Coaches can obtain professional insurence through the BHS which is very helpful. Most beginners are advised to look for BHS accreditation when searching for a place to learn to ride because they can be certain of consistent standards as a minimum. There certainly are unqualified people who teach on their own horse - who undercut accredited riding stables giving lessons - but when there are so many better qualified people who are properly trained to teach and to coach then sensible people use them. The specialist accredited coaches in Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage generally build on the basis of their BHS qualifications.
Not a perfect system by any means. The BHS is a charity and has no Government funding.
Thank you very much for responding.
Leaving the amateur rules aside, I wish we had more of an effective system here in the U.S. to ensure that people had the proper qualifications and experience to teach riders and train horses but I doubt we ever will have, much to our detriment.
It’s too bad that the U.S. doesn’t have a system that requires some real qualifications for people who are hanging out a professional shingle here. The lack of knowledge that is evident in some self styled “professional” trainers in the U.S. is shocking.
It must be the fact that Britain has a very horsey history, where hunting and Pony Club have been a large part of the foundation for young riders that makes a difference. The vast geographic area that comprises the U.S. as well as the existence of so many types of riding, leaves beginners with little experience, pretty much dependent on advertising and unverifiable claims of expertise.
The US has a horsey history also. The difference is that we are determined to have a free market capitalism and resist anything that smacks of government “control” even if it is for our own safety. Note: resistance to seat belts in cars (I have cousins who still put the belt behind their body), resistance to water breaks and shade in states such as Florida being required of employers. IMO we have no certification or licensing because of those underlying values and USEF’s refusal to take a stand by requiring that only certified or licensed trainers at its show. Just saying. . . .
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