How would you define a 'novice rider'?

Question

As in someone saying 'I'm a novice' - this is a general term isn't it?

What distinguishes a novice rider and someone more advanced?!

I'm bored lol :)

Answer 1

Being able to canter as opposed to walk and trot does not mean you are not a novice. A lot of people canter but don't do it well. Some things I would consider are:

*  Does the rider have a good seat?

*  Are they riding smoothly or posting well in the trot, or bouncing all over the place?

* Are they pulling back on the reins? Someone who is pulling back while trotting or cantering is a novice rider.

*  How light is the rider with their cues? A novice rider is likely to be more harsh.

* Is the rider looking up where they are going, looking up and out to where they want to turn the horse? Novice riders are often looking down at the head of the horse.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 2

At my stable the rankings generally are- Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advance.

Beginner riders bascially have no idea what they are doing. They know how to sit on a horse, hold onto the reins and pull left and right.

Novice riders usually know walk trot and are beginning to learn a bit of canter here and there pending on the person. They know how to tack up and clean their own horses.

Intermediate riders know walk trot and canter and are beginning to learn more detailed techniques of dressage and are starting lower jumps. You learn the half pass, flying lead etc. You probably are already showing by  this point.

Advance is that you can do most of the actions asked off you, not to perfection but you know how to ask for the task.

IM not saying that "advance" means that your world class material. Its just little "groups" we have ourselves in at the stable I work at. LIke if your making a lesson plan you wouldnt put Beginners in with Advance riders.

Hope that helped?

Answer 3

If your not competant in all four paces and are unable to control the horse in all four paces then you are still a novice

Answer 4

It all depends on what organization you're riding in.  

In my local open show association - a novice is considered someone who has shown in less than 20 shows and never ridden at Champ Show.  

In my county 4H project a novice is considered someone who has never won a blue ribbon.

In our barrel racing association it is considered someone who has never won more than $1000.

In AQHA it's based on points - you cannot have earned more than 25 points.

There are lots of things that categorize you as a novice within each organization.  The biggest thing is that it's usually people that are just beginning and starting out.

Answer 5

Novie to me means that you are new at what you are doing at that moment- If you are used to doing dressage and then start jumping for the first time, then you are novice at that.

In my opinion, you are still novice until you can control your horse at the three most popular gaits. You're probably more intermediat when you do jumping and can control your horse- or even dressage etc.

Answer 6

For me a novice ranges from someone who is just getting on a horse for the first time until they are doing a posting trot (I have known people to start learning a posting trot the first day they ever sit on a horse - albeit not well).

Intermediate to me is someone who is "good" at walking and trotting at the post, as well as cantering.

Advanced to me is someone who excels at all the basic gaits (walk, trot, canter) and is also going over jumps.

But in truth it is really all relative depending on your riding style and whether or not you've added anything new to your routine!

Answer 7

i would assume someone who can only walk and sit a trot to be novice, someone who can walk and post a trot intermediate, and walk/trot/canter advanced. a novice also means someone who is just riding for the first time.

Answer 8

I believe the term "novice" to be subjective.

Are you asking what makes a novice rider in order to establish which classes you would enter in a certain type of competition?  If so, proper definition comes from consulting the rules for that specific competition.

To me, any person who does not understand well why horses do what they do and is not capable of riding a very well trained, perhaps a bit older, horse and keeping full control at all times is a novice that shouldn't be given full rein to do anything they want to do.

An intermediate rider, then would be a person who knows even MORE about how a horse thinks and why it does what it does and is capable of riding a less well-trained horse in more various situations.

A professional rider, then, would be a person who is capable of understanding completely what the horse is thinking at all times, have the proficiency to foretell coming trouble spots and works to avoid them, can ride green or start horses properly and teach others how to do these things too.

I would consider myself to be an intermediate level - but have learned that working with young horses and understanding all I need to to be perfectly safe on them at all times is a bit more work than pleasure.  I'm looking forward to becoming the person who knows a lot about how they think, but being able to ride a well-trained one that's safe and easily controlled   ;-)

Answer 9

Novice means that you simply haven't had the experience riding in a certain dicipline or in general... I've been riding for 20 years but I'm new to eventing so I'm now a novice rider again! haha

Novice can mean you compete up to a certain level- like in eventing, you jump certain heights and perform certain level dressage.

In AQHA and breed showing, it can mean you are in your first few years of showing.

In general, I think it just means you are still "new" to whatever it is you are doing. It doesn't mean you are necessarily a beginner rider.