The Lingfield Instructor Group

We heard some time ago from Boel, Boel is an overseas student who was training part time at a centre in Surrey to gain her AI. In previous newsletters she told us about her successful completion of the Stage 1 & 2 exams whilst working full time.

 This time Beol give us her update on her Preliminary Teaching Test exam which she gained whilst working part time.

It is a while since I took my PTT exam but at last I have had a bit of time to catch up to let you know how it went. I have decided to stay at the same stables where I trained. They seemed really keen to keep me and are letting me choose whatever hours I want to teach. Best of all is that I get to ride as much as I want to, which is terrific news. Now, a bit about the PTT exam itself and about teaching:

Just like everybody else, I was quite nervous when I first arrived at the exam centre, but as soon as we had gone through the introductions and I had found out what subjects I were to teach I felt a lot calmer.

I started off with a jumping lesson first thing in the morning. It was probably ideal, as I did not have any time to worry beforehand. My brief said that I was to assess the riders over a single fence and then work towards combinations and related distance fences. With only 35 minutes in all, there was not much time to spare.

I knew that they would mainly look out for safety aspects I took it very easy and, after warm-up and introduction, introduced the jumps by walking over a pole between the wings and then, with the rest of the ride on the centre line, trotting over a small cross pole one at a time. They then progressed to jumping a combination and two fences with three non-jumping strides in between. It all went very smoothly and we had just about time to jump the last set of fences in canter, before the time was up. I was quite lucky as all three horses were roughly the same size and could work with the same distances between the fences.

After the lesson the examiner asked me a few questions about the tack and the rider's clothing. Then I had over an hour to prepare for my 5-minute lecture ("The roughing off procedure"), which went just fine. We also got to answer quite a few questions about running a yard and customer care. Before lunch there was a written test, which for me consisted of filling in an accident report form.

After lunch I was to give a 15-minute lead rein lesson. My brief said to make improvements to the riders position and teach the rider about bend. My student was a 9-year-old girl who made my job very easy by listening and following instructions with great attention and enthusiasm. The lesson flew by, as did the last phase of the day, the oral exam where five fellow students and me answered questions about different aspects of teaching. In all it was quite an enjoyable day!

As for the teaching I am really enjoying it. I have been doing the children's lessons for a couple of months now and have got to know some of the regulars. The kids are great with their enthusiasm and unconditioned love of horses and it is amazing to see their progress. Little things like learning to rise in trot or cantering for the first time can be big achievements and as for me I have learned something new every week.

To work with children is new to me and it is a lot more interesting and fun than I could have ever imagined. Their ability and willingness to learn and develop is mind blowing. I find it fascinating how they absorb every word and how hungry they are for any kind of knowledge of horses. And how they beam when being told that they are doing something well.

I am really pleased with how it has turned out. Six months ago all I wanted was to do a bit of teaching and get back into riding, but I did not have a clue how to get there. Now I have my Trainee Teaching Certificate, I am teaching every week and I get to ride as much as I want! I could never have imagined it would work out so well, so quickly!

Thank you, again, for making it possible!

Boel

CONGRATULATIONS BOEL!