WORKING FOR THE A TEST

The ‘A’ Test is the highest award of The Pony Club and provides a comprehensive examination in Horsemanship and Training Young Horses for Senior Members and Associates.

Candidates must hold the Pony Club A Test Horse and Pony Care and must be good all-round horsemen, with sound knowledge that has been acquired in logical sequence from their Instructors and Pony Club Publications and further reading.

Passing ‘A’ Test is a really worthwhile achievement and provides the foundation to specialise in a branch of equitation. It is accepted by the B.H.S. as an exemption from their Stages III and IV Examination in Riding and Horse Care, subject to recommendation by The Pony Club Training Committee and approval by the BHS Training and Examinations Committee.

The preparation for ‘A’ Test should be progressive and continuous. It is an exam for the serious and dedicated rider who is prepared to devote thought, time and effort to improving their own riding and their practical knowledge of training a young horses. The years between ‘B’ Test and ‘A’ Test must be spent in conscious preparation. Intense or ‘crash’ courses seldom result in success.

Note: You may apply to take the ‘A’ Test before the date of your A Test Horse and Pony Care, but you will have to withdraw if you fail to pass A Test Horse and Pony Care.

Candidates must have had practical experience with horses as well as ponies.

Learn to be practical. Know how to apply your knowledge both in the stables and on the horse. Knowledge alone is not enough. It must be accepted by the examiners that you are practised and at ease with the tasks you have been given.

Have a genuine quest for knowledge and a desire to understand the reasons behind what you do.

Have a basically correct riding position which, through practice and discipline, has become natural, so that you will not drop back into bad habits under stress.

Discipline yourself to apply correct aids in a precise way. Untidy aids indicate an untidy mind. A rider cannot expect a horse to be accurate and submissive if he himself is inaccurate and undisciplined.

Develop the ability to put your actions into words, making yourself aware of what you are doing so that you can talk about it. Understand your own actions.

Know and understand the reasoning and logic behind the facts. Do not accept what you are told at face value, but argue it in your own mind until the answer becomes the right solution.

Try to develop the ability to get an improved performance out of whatever horse you ride.

Develop ‘feel’ for the way a horse is going in both outline and pace, and know when and how to make corrections if he is going badly. It is even more important to be aware of when the horse is going well; only when you are sure the horse is going in a correct way can you then analyse the reasons why and be able to re-create the ‘good’ on another occasion. This is positive thinking.

Be physically fit enough to ride without strain (Riding Fit).