CKRH strives to work with instructors that are knowledgeable in horsemanship skills and that possess adequate riding skills so that these skills may be taught effectively to our participants in lessons.  NARHA Instructor in Training candidates wishing to fulfill their 25 hours of mounted instruction at CKRH are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to a CKRH staff member before serving as an apprentice instructor in lessons.  Riding and horsemanship skills evaluated are outlined below:

  Know and demonstrate the following horsemanship skills:

  • Haltering and leading (including catching horse in pasture)
  • Leading horse safely through gate; open and close gate
  • Tying horse with quick-release knot
  • Grooming and tacking horse (including selecting tack appropriate for horse and candidate)
  • Equipment check prior to mounting
  • Mounting from mounting block
  • How to redirect inappropriate horse behavior on the ground
  • Know and recognize signs of lameness  

Know and demonstrate the following riding skills:

  • Appropriate warm up for horse and candidate
  • Correct position at walk, trot, and canter
  • Lengthening and shortening of reins
  • Free walk and working walk
  • Trot – posting on the correct diagonal
  • Change of diagonals at the trot
  • Canter or lope – on the correct lead
  • Transitions between gaits
  • Ring figures such as circle, serpentine, figure eights, half circles, and change of rein
  • How to redirect inappropriate horse behavior under saddle  

Candidates should also:

  • Demonstrate the ability to lunge a horse safely and effectively, either on the lunge line or in the round pen. 
  • Have a solid understanding of horse behavior, including how horses communicate in the herd.
  • Have an understanding of effective techniques for developing a relationship with a horse on the ground (i.e., teaching your horse to follow you, teaching your horse to yield to pressure, working with your horse to accept and respect you as the leader).  

Good riding and horsemanship skills take time and experience to develop.  Candidates who do not demonstrate adequate riding and horsemanship skills may wish to enroll in riding lessons in their area, attend training clinics at CKRH or clinics offered by profession trainers, or gain horsemanship experience by volunteering as a wrangler for mounted lessons. 

Instructors in Training Horsemanship and Riding Demonstration