I’ve always classified myself as a beginner but I’m just curious. I am able to walk,trot,canter and stay balanced.
I have ridden and stayed on a spooking runaway horse (though that may have been dumb luck lol) and have ridden different level horses (lazy schoolmaster to a high spirited gelding that hadn’t been ridden in 4 months) I am completely competent on the ground (grooming,leading,tacking up) so am I a beginner or intermediate rider?
Sounds like intermediate to me.
Me to
Me three.
I believe it depends on what discipline you are involved in. I would consider you a beginner in any English riding discipline,however it isn’t possible to know without seeing you ride.
It really isn’t a call that anyone can make on the internet and different instructors and/or programs will have different ideas about which skills differentiate an “intermediate” rider from a “beginner”. Tacking up, leading and basic grooming are horsemanship skills but usually have little to do with how you will be “classified” as a rider.
Summer horse camp vs Jumper barn, will have very different definitions.
7 Likes
Maybe an advanced beginner, if there is such?
1 Like
I ride western. Learning to barrel race
In that case, I’m sure that there are people on the Western forum that are much more qualified to answer your question than I am. :yes:
It’s impossible to tell without seeing you ride. Apart from basic balance I would want to see how you use the aids, what your hands are like, your tact and response time. Also your confidence and experience out of the arena and your problem solving ability.
And yes it depends on where you are and who the comparison is to.
I compare myself to my pro friends and if I take them as advanced I will never be more than intermediate 
So that makes everyone less confident than me a beginner or adult re rider
If you are competing there are bench marks and while not everyone who jumps 2 foot 6 or rides a Level One dressage test is a superb rider, they are still solidly intermediate and quote highly skilled.
It’s hard to have a bench mark if you don’t compete.
I wouldn’t worry about it. If you go to try a horse in a lesson or lease just say you can walk trot canter have been lessons however long, and coach or owner can watch and evalaute.
Everyone has exasperated stories about students and leasers and buyers who say they are advanced but can’t ride at all.
4 Likes
I don’t ride western and I don’t know much about barrel racing, but I agree with skydy, an intermediate rider needs to be doing something in their chosen discipline beyond walk/trot/canter(lope). In hunter/jumpers I would expect an intermediate rider to be able to get around a small course of small jumps, ride W/T/C without stirrups, get flying lead changes, and be comfortable doing a small gymnastics grid, for instance. For a barrel racer, I would think somebody who is “intermediate” should be able to run the pattern at speed. Not necessarily fast and tight enough to be regularly in the money in an open competition in the highest divisions, but fast enough to go in the divisions that aren’t set aside for little kids and greenie horses, and have a reasonable chance of being competitive there.
I do think “advanced beginner” is a real thing, and fits those who can W/T/C with reasonable balance and control but may not have some of the finesse skills really down and solid (like jumping, getting things like bend and collection out of a horse that isn’t super-well schooled and fit, etc).
1 Like
“Advanced beginner” is a term I’ve used a lot. I’d place you in that category from your brief description, but as others said, it’s hard to say over just an internet blurb.
5 Likes
Depends on the horse. I disagree that anyone who can sit a 2’6" course is “intermediate”, I’ve seen SO many people on push button horses smoothly steer around a small course but could not sit a green OTTB. Conversely some of the best riders I know have zero interest in showing but can instill confidence and knowledge into any horse.
So to me, if you ride a seasoned horse, but you are the one benefitting in knowledge and experience, and the horse is just like “another day in the ring” you’ll always be a beginner, regardless of activity. Once YOU are instilling the horse with confidence and skills, you progress as a rider. So I think from your description on multiple levels of horses you are intermediate
5 Likes
If you’re looking at “for sale” ads and they say “not good for beginners” or “needs intermediate+ rider”, there’s a pretty good chance you’re fine.
Ah yes. If it’s about sales ads they are trying to weed out folks who can’t ride at all.
Funny, my thought was that they were talking about her - i.e. the horse wouldn’t be appropriate.
To me the ‘no beginner’ things tend to be like small craft warnings. If you aren’t sure whether or not your boat qualifies as a small craft or not, don’t go out. If you aren’t sure if you’re still a beginner or not, you probably are.
5 Likes
I agree with red mares above.
Competent Beginner, maybe. Staying on a difficult horse in a surprise situation does not always translate to conscious, learned ability. A decent balanced seat can be ‘original equipment’ - part of what you came with. It is not necessarily an indication of level of achievement. There is more to it than that.
You guys are pretty tough in your definitions! Just goes to show you how difficult it is to assess both horses and riders that way.
One of the problems is that it is tough to know HOW a rider is able to WTC or jump. There are people who have ridden horses on hack lines who feel they are “intermediate”. Yet it is difficult to keep people in the beginner category with those just learning to trot.
Wish there were agreed upon definitions and categories. Something like: Total Beginner - still learning to trot independently on tolerant horse in ring. Basic Beginner - can balance at walk and trot without interfering significantly with horse. Some canter in ring on tolerant horse. Advanced Beginner - can WTC and positively influence a well trained horse. Can effectively deal with minor disobedience and can ride outside of ring. And so on…
Of course the difficulty is when people dont have good instruction and think they are riding just fine! See R. Moore.
I really like this website definitions:
https://www.equitours.com/preparing-for-your-trip/ability-level/
It is not just about the skill set, but how often you ride and your goals with riding. I love they have soft hands as a qualification of an advanced rider sometimes something so simple is the best test. There is a former western pleasure horse at my barn, literally anyone can sit her trot. So I feel super advanced when I ride her and can drop my stirrups and canter, or sit the trot forever. But all it takes is getting on my much less educated, spicy little mare to remind me that I am closer to beginner than advanced 
I would consider myself a solid novice (A rider who is capable of mounting and dismounting unassisted, capable of applying basic aids, comfortable and in control at the walk, moderate length posting trots, and short canters). I am working on the 2 point and half seat in canter, but no galloping yet. I do love OTTB’s, so I hope galloping will be in my future.
I like the equitours definitions though they are slanted to trail riding. Lots of advanced riders and trainers I know would be pretty sore if they went on a 6 hour trail ride!
2 Likes
This term has always bothered me. My daughter was using it when looking up horses on line when we were looking to buy her a horse 7 years ago.
Advanced and beginner just don’t go together??? Or is it just me??
1 Like
