April 2009While the proverbial April showers are said to bring May flowers, they also bring a few other less appealing things such as muddy horses and impossibly sloppy fields! However, having waited out the cold and snowy winter, we can now look forward to days that let us get back to the “real” business of riding and coaching; in daylight and outside, during warmer albeit not necessarily drier days!
While technically, spring is upon us, those halcyon days may still seem far away as we deal with a season in flux. That being said, rest assured; they will eventually arrive along with the flurry of activities that accompany our sport into its busy season. It was only a short time ago that we were making resolutions for 2009; whether it was First-Aid workshops, Learn to Ride levels, or Instructor/Coach certifications, we looked ahead to a new year’s clean slate to pencil in our equestrian plans.
But plans, like the seasons, change and evolve. What was anticipated in January may not be realistic in April, or what seemed impossible in February, could be a sure thing in May. The reality is that we must continue to reflect on our aspirations and expectations of our horses, our students, and of course, ourselves. So, on one of those rainy spring days, please take the time to peruse the OEF website for the many educational opportunities/activities that are being offered; you might find just one more thing you can pencil in!
Questions, queries, concerns?
Please contact Kelly Rodrigues at education@horse.on.ca.
Status Letters
Status letters were mailed out in February and active certificates in March. Please remember that in order to maintain an “active” status and keep your name posted on the coaches’ list on the OEF website; you must have your 2009 Equine Canada and OEF memberships as well as a current First Aid certificate. Additionally, you must have submitted the appropriate number of updating hours for your set time period.
Speaking of updating hours….
If you are an English Instructor or Coach, you may have noticed a new icon—a diamond—added to the names on the coaches’ list. This icon represents the number of updating hours a particular coach acquired in his or her last update period. An Instructor or Coach, who completed a minimum of 20 hours of professional development, will have the designation of 1 diamond. Those who completed over 35 hours of updates will be designated with 2 diamonds, and those who have acquired over 50 hours, 3 diamonds.
Instructor/Coach Evaluations and Exams
The 2009 schedule is now posted on the OEF website. There are a variety of dates and locations from which to choose. If you are planning to attend an evaluation or exam, make sure you get your registration in on time as the OEF reserves the right to cancel any scheduled course, clinic, assessment, evaluation or examination if there are insufficient pre-registered applicants.
Additionally, please do your best to ensure all your support paperwork (mentor task sheets, risk forms, codes of conduct and ethics, and if stabling your horse, all health paperwork) is included with your application, in order that your application may be considered “complete” and your place in the evaluation/exam confirmed.
Upcoming Clinics
English Learn to Ride Clinic:
Are you a certified Instructor/Coach who would like to examine in the English Learn to Ride 1-10 program? Are you interested in pursuing your levels in the English Learn to Ride 1-10 program? Are you a certified Coach/Instructor looking for updating hours? Then, this clinic is for you! The clinic will be held on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at Dreamcrest Farm in Port Perry.
Instructor Workshop:
Do you want to become an EC Certified Instructor? Do you need mentoring hours? Coaches—will you be mentoring Instructor candidates? If so, then this is the workshop for you to attend! The format will be a mock “Instructor Evaluation”. This workshop will be held on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at Foxcroft Equestrian Centre, in Millgrove.
Registration forms are available online at www.horse.on.ca; go to “Instructor, Coach, and Clinic Dates” under “Programs-Coach and Rider”. If registration deadlines are imminent, please feel free to call the office: space may still be available! We will continue to post upcoming clinics as they become available so don’t forget to check back again for future dates!
Update from the 2009 National Coaching Meetings
The annual Equine Canada Convention was back on “hometurf” in Ottawa this year. Ontario’s Master Course Conductors—Barbara Newlands, Grant Field, and Mary Ruth Moore—along with their counterparts from across the country, met to review, discuss, and plan the many aspects of our national coaching program.
2010 looks to be an exciting and busy year for the coaching program!
English Learn to Ride Levels 9 & 10 are now in their final development with the intended launch in 2010. Revised versions of the Western Rider Level manuals were reviewed and while further revisions are in process, the plan is to have the new manuals approved for next year. A Learn to Ride program is also in development for Saddle Seat. Stable Management in Canada is nearing the end of its revision journey; it is also currently being translated!
Both the English and Western Coaching Committees reviewed the new evaluation tools and rubrics for the “new” Coach 1 and Coach 2. Positive discussion developed around the new rubrics, and as a result, further “fine-tuning” is being completed. Again, we’re looking at that magic date of 2010 to introduce the new program. Obviously, when all rubrics and tools are finalized, they will be made available on our website, www.horse.on.ca for you to review. When all is finalized, we will introduce the new program through clinics and/or workshops in order to familiarize candidates, mentors, and evaluators with the new model.
Congratulations to Danielle Yaghdjian, English Coach 1, who was approved as an English Instruction of Beginner Evaluator.
Congratulations to Grant Field, who is now the Chair of both the National English Coaching Committee as well as the National Coaching Committee.
Rider Level Testing
Will you be organizing rider level testing this year at your facility? If you are interested in accommodating outside candidates, the OEF will post upcoming dates for English and Western rider level testing on the website.
What you need to do: organize your date, location, and the levels that you plan to test; then forward this information to Jennifer Irwin at the OEF office at edu2@horse.on.ca
What the OEF will do: post this information, along with your contact details on our website.
Please note, this will be a service provided by the OEF to encourage rider testing throughout the province, all arrangements will be done between candidates and the testing contact, the OEF will not be responsible for the administration of these individual test dates.
Saddle Seat Instructor Certification News
The OEF has received inquiries about the possibility of holding an Evaluation (formerly called Examination) for candidates who wish to become certified Saddle Seat Instructors. If there is sufficient interest, we will look to organize an Evaluation sometime in the fall of 2009. Those who are interested should submit their name and contact information as soon as possible to: Kelly Rodrigues, Education Coordinator, at education@horse.on.ca or at (905) 709-6545, ext. 15.
Further information about the programme including prerequisites, reading material and content of the evaluation, can be found by CLICKING HERE; click on the link “Saddle Seat Instruction of Beginner information package” near the top of the page.