June 19, 2008
Media contact: Patty Wellborn
604-795-2819
or 604-504-7441, local 2819
patty.wellborn@ucfv.ca
UFV introduces new equestrian coaching options
When the University of the Fraser Valley needed somebody to teach equestrian coaching it went straight to the stables.
For years, UFV has been told that it could help fill a gap in equestrian training.
Starting this fall on evenings and Saturdays, the university will offer courses that will train would-be coaches to teach horse-riding lessons and coach riders at all levels of riding, jumping, and showing. The Equestrian Coaching and Instruction training courses will be offered in two parts.
In September, students will begin with Introduction to Coaching and Instruction, where they will explore the theory of coaching and prepare to complete an Equine Canada exam.
In February, students continue on with a course in The Practice of Equestrian Coaching and Instruction, which includes five full days of lessons and practice sessions at a commercial riding stable. The course is more than 100 hours, with plenty of practical, hands-on experience. To become an Equine Canada instructor, students will have to successfully complete both components and the Equine Canada evaluation.
“We believe we’re filling a need by offering quality training at an accessible time,” says UFV agriculture program head Rose Morrison. “It’s not just about understanding horses, it’s about to creating lesson plans, developing coaching and teaching skills, and working independently to train people of any age to ride.”
Students will also be encouraged to take UFV’s Equine Production and Management class, a three-credit course offered as part of the Agriculture diploma program. Those lessons take place Thursday evenings starting in September, and cover feeding, breeding, and management of horses including medical problems, lameness, nutrition, facilities, equipment, and reproductive management.
“Our livestock programs have always included a course on equine studies, but there has been demand and requests to take that a bit further,” explains Morrison. “If the new coaching option is successful, we will build it up into a certificate program.”
Maureen Walters of Yarrow, a self-labelled “horsey-type” who has a long and successful career in the horse riding and competition world, will teach UFV’s equine courses.
Walters has taught equine management courses at several post-secondary institutions, including UFV. She competes in dressage, judges dressage and jumping, is a level-one course conductor and examiner of instructors and first- and second-level coaches for Equine Canada, and has been named both the B.C. Horse Council’s Official of the Year and the BCHC’s Person of the Year.
“There are many people out there giving lessons but what I am trying to do is to create true teachers of the equestrian sport,” says Walters. “My students will be people who can take a beginner rider and teach them good technical skills and sport ethics.”
Walters says once the basics are taught correctly, riders can enjoy long, happy, and successful futures in riding and competition. The correct basics can then be built upon by future coaches to correlate with Equine Canada’s long-term athlete development plan.
“The success of new offerings will be largely dependent on the quality of instruction, and we believe we have an excellent instructor in Maureen,” says Morrison.
The coaching courses are offered part-time, in the evenings and on Saturdays, over two semesters, allowing students to carry on with jobs or other responsibilities. Morrison says equine coaching is open to a wide age-range of people and students don’t need to be expert riders.
“Students should have a solid background in horses,” says Walters. “A short history of their riding experience, provided when they apply, would be appreciated and it’s good to know if they ride either English style or Western.”
UFV offers a wide variety of programs through its Agriculture Technology and Continuing Studies departments including plant identification, nursery production and propagation practices, dairy production and management, fundamentals of garden design, principles of on-farm food safety, pruning workshops, and management and production of beef, sheep and goats.
To find out more about the new Equestrian Coaching and Instruction options, or any other agriculture programs offered at UFV, please visit www.ucfv.ca/agriculture, or contact Shelley Hayes at 1-888-504-7441, local 2813 or shelley.hayes@ucfv.ca.
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