How would you classify this rider as???

Question

(like beginner, etc.)

The rider can:

1. Walk
2. Trot (VERY good position. Has won champion in small walk/trot shows when first began riding)
3. Canter well (when the rider loses a stirrup, he/she doesn't fall off)
4. Small jumps (two feet) and is working on perfecting her/his two point, so then he/she can move on to larger jumps with a lesser danger of falling.

what do you think?

this is my friend that rides with me during lessons. I just want to know.

is she really a beginner?


idk... she seems good to me..

i mean rider. not horsewoman (to the 4th answerer)

i mean rider. not horsewoman (to the 4th answerer)

she has dealt with difficult mounts. (a three year old that wasn't fully trained yet, and another diccicult horse. and a pony bucked wither her once, but she stayed on)

Answer 1

I'd say advanced beginner/intermediate. It depends on how well she deals with situations like bucking, etc. An intermediate rider should start to get the horse to use itself and not just be along for the ride.

Answer 2

I would say a beginner graduating to intermediate. But then I have a saying of Strong Intermediate before they become advanced. Each rider is different. Just because a good rider can control certain horses doesn't mean he/she is a strong rider or a good rider. Practice with lots of horses usually advances one pretty quickly. Time in the saddle is the only thing that will graduate your friend. She sounds like she can ride though. Since we, the people answering can't see her ride, even if we did all of us would have different opinions....I say she is well on her way to being a good intermediate rider.

Answer 3

Beginner, intermediate, advanced is all relative. I am the most advanced rider at my barn. I break out colts, have shown extensively in over 5 states, and have 2 college degrees in equine science....but if you put me next to George Morris or Debbie Macdonald...I am a novice greenhorn who happens to teach and train some.

Whenever I go somewhere new to ride and they ask me how experienced I am, I say that I have ridden some. I never tell them what I can accomplish at home with my own horses. I have found that if I list my credentials when I go to a new place to ride, I end up having to prove myself on the hottest little devil horse imagineable.

According to the CHA (camp horsemanship assocation) this rider would a level 2 rider(out of 4 levels).

I still feel like I haven't answered your question. Are you just curious as to how others would rate? Or you trying to pick out an appropriate show class for this year? Are you trying to fillout a questionairee for a riding clinic? This info would help answer this question better.
Best wishes

Answer 4

I'd say advanced beginner. She's definitely not just a beginner, since it sounds like she has a pretty good sense of balance. I'm not sure I would classify her as intermediate yet, not without knowing more at least. I would take into account what kinds of horses she's able to ride... can she ride more difficult horses, or is she still just riding push-button lesson horse types? There's a big difference between someone who can ride a horse who does exactly what it's supposed to and one who will throw in an occasional buck or take advantage of a weak rider or some other issue. I wouldn't consider someone truly Intermediate until they've started to be able to handle a more difficult mount.

Answer 5

When I operated a public riding stable some 15 years ago, my insurance company told me that a "competent" rider was one who rode a minimum of 300 hours per year. That's nearly every day for one hour.

That adds up to 6 hours per week - however you want to split the hours -

If your friend falls into this category - then she is perhaps competent - not good. Certainly not skilled, but competent.

Of course, this was 15 years ago but it's a good place to start.

I used this description to explain to customers why they required a guide on their trail rides.

Ironically, it was the experienced riders who requested guides. The non-riders wanted to go out by themselves. Sure. Right.

Answer 6

It depends on who you ask, but I would consider that beginner/intermediate. Once she perfects jumping, that is when I would consider her intermediate. I only consider someone an expert if they have been riding their entire life and have like a magic touch with horses.

She sounds like a godd rider, though, with a lot of potential!

Answer 7

Low end of intermediate, or high end of beginner. Not even scratched the surface of what he/she can do with a horse, but good enough to stay on through most troubles.

That's all beginner is, anyway. Learning to stay the heck on the horse.

Answer 8

I would say beginner/ intermediate. Once they have been able to canter without losing stirrups and are able to graduate towards larger fences and some combinations, correcting strides etc, then I'd say intermediate.

Answer 9

Intermediate

Answer 10

no she is an intermediate rider but that does not mean that she is not a begginner horsewoman. theres a difference