To find out if someone is a qualified Horse Safety Australia Instructor our office will be happy to advise you. We can also tell you if they have kept up their registration with us.
Email the office admin@horsesafetyaustralia.com.au and provide the name and state of the person you are enquiring about.
When you are looking for a new instructor, ask them the following questions:
Are they qualified as a riding instructor with a recognised organisation? (Horse Safety Australia or an organisation which is nationally recognised to provide certification).
Do they have current first aid qualifications? (they should be renewed every 3 years to be current)
Are their horses in good condition and looked after properly? They should fall into category 3 as shown in this document: Condition Scoring of Horses.
Do they have current public liability insurance? (Certificate of Currency).
Do they have emergency procedures for their activities? They should have written procedures, at least they should have some sort of communication from all horse activities preferably to 000 and good mobile phone coverage (and UHF radios or Satellite devices if on trails)
Did you fill in an application form which asked you how often you had ridden before and wanted details of your health issues and your emergency contacts?
Is the arena for your lessons separate from the public, with good surface and safe fences? (Safe fences exclude droppers, barbed wire, or any sharp or dangerous edges)
Check that gates are kept shut during the lesson, and that there is no clutter lying around in the arena.
Do ratios meet the HSA and Safe Work Australia recommendations (no more than 8 pupils to a qualified instructor, 6 clients per qualified staff member for trail rides, with a minimum of 2 staff members on any ride)
Are the horses provided to you (where you are riding their horse) suitable for purpose, safe and well behaved?
If the answers to the above are all “yes” then you are likely to be in good hands!