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Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Hazel Reed

Hazel ReedBHSAI – Author and Publisher of the British Horse Society Stage Examination Texbooks

It is my delight and pride that my books have been able to help thousands of students enter and pass their exams. The greatest gift is to teach, for not only does our own teaching pass through to others beyond our acquaintance, but we also learn so much ourselves.

Of course, I am not really the teacher, for my own learning of horsemanship was given to me by those wonderful characters, those horses and ponies I met in my life. Truly it is they who are the teachers.

At the age of nine from somewhere, I have no idea where, I suddenly and passionately decided I wanted to ride a pony. I must have nagged because before long my parents took me to the local riding school where I sat on a pony for the very first time. My parents were not involved with horses at all. They were passionate about golf, but I never saw the point of that sport!

At 13 I was fortunate to be given my first pony. Sioux, (Sue) a 13’ 2” Exmoor pony of uncertain age was my very first teacher. She was the ‘Al Capone’ of all ponies. She was as tough as they come and completely bombproof. She ruled the herd but carefully looked after me!

We moved Sue eventually from the broken down old Mill that was the livery yard to a Riding Establishment owned and run by a rather sniffy ex-household cavalry man.  He taught me to sit up straight in the saddle, but for some reason did not take too kindly to this kid and her plump over sized pony in his rather posh yard.
Hazel Reed
At one of his competition days, Sioux and I entered ourselves for the ‘Obstacle course’ which meant horses/ponies and their riders, riding around a set of obstacles such as banners, flags, balloons, tin cans rattling, people with umbrellas, dogs barking, cars revving, all the noises and sights to make a horse shy.

Sioux of course was absolutely unfazed by anything and walked past everything with a nonchalance that was astounding.  I was sure we had won as everyone else had at least one whoopsie, a shy or a run out. But no, the Ex-household cavalry officer decided that Sioux was far too bombproof and therefore it was not a test for her. We came nowhere.

Sioux however got her own back. She was in half livery which meant she was used, (and frequently too) for children’s lessons.

One day the Yard owner came up to me, his face thunderous. ‘That damn pony of yours’ he shouted at me across the yard.

‘Oh what’s wrong?’ I asked politely, at 15 I had been taught to be polite to elders.

‘She’s in my beginner’s lessons,’ he stated loudly, ‘ but I can’t teach anyone on her.’

Sorry to say I giggled, which only infuriated the guy. ‘It’s not funny,’ he spat at me. ‘that damn pony. When I ask them all to trot, she trots, but only when I am watching her. The moment I turn my back to teach the rest of the class she walks and no amount of riding will get her to trot again. She is completely disobedient.’

Of course I did not always do what I had been taught and I could not help myself from saying, ‘I would not call that disobedience I would call that intelligence!’

His face turned beetroot red and as he stomped off he called out to me, ‘Don’t ever teach your grandmother to suck eggs.’

But I think Sioux had the better of him!

She taught me that ponies and horses are far more intelligent than most people think. She also taught me so much about riding and horse psychology. I know that all those of us who have learnt to ride when a child remember with such a depth of love our first ponies. They are always, always deep in our hearts!

At 16 I outgrew Sioux (she was given to a local school for teaching disabled children where she was very happy and lived out her years!)

My next horse was a beautiful black hunter mare, whom I named Autumn Beauty. Where Sioux was tough, Beauty was gentle. She was the most gentle horse you could possibly hope to meet. She was a hunter though and trained to gallop at great speeds over the countryside. She taught me stickability!

We were constantly together, I spent more time with her than with my family. We rode together over vast tracts of countryside.

I then went to college in Cheltenham for a course to gain the BHSAI qualification. However before I could enter the exam (only a day long course then) I had to have an appendix operation and missed it. At the time I was devastated, but life has its own way to unfold and now I understand why that was so!

After marriage and children I once again had the opportunity of owning my own horse an Irish Thoroughbred called Harry. I found out later than his show name was the Duke of Clarence! He was a whiz around cross-country. I trained on him for cross-country events and entered many competitions on him. I then wanted to start one-day eventing but found that though he loved the jumping, Harry hated dressage with a passion. We did a few one day events and trooper as he was he did well.

It really hit me one day though when I took him in the trailer to an event. He was so excited, his head held high, his feet hardly touching the ground. I prepared him for the dressage test, inside an indoor school. We rode down to the door of the school, still he was lively and excited. Then as we walk through the doors he realised it was dressage. I felt his body slump.

He taught me that ‘horses for courses’ is a true saying, some love jumping, some love dressage. For me and Harry after that it was cross-country all the way.

Eventually though I decided my love was dressage. I love cross-country and jumping, but the subtlety and beauty of dressage became my passion.

Harry, as he was getting older by this time, went to a lovely lady rider happy to hack him.

The next horse who found me was Rufus. This five year old Danish Warmblood would teach me a lot about horse psychology. When I went to see him prior to buying him, he looked as quiet as a mouse. He performed beautifully and I rode him then and there. He seemed perfect.

BUT, a horse is never known until after a few weeks or months. Rufus proved to be a handful. He would rear, buck, twist, and generally behave in an atrocious manner. By this time he was at livery in one of the country’s top Riding Establishments. But even here from the Chief instructor down, no one could handle him. I remember one day whilst the Chief instructor (a six foot powerful man) was lunging him in the International Arena, an outside ménage, Rufus took off, dragging the instructor behind him.

Eventually it took two men to bring him into the school holding onto his bridle. He spun around, knocking people over.  He had no respect and was totally wild. The owner of the establishment, a top class dressage rider told me to have him put down as he would never be tamed.

But I don’t give up. And as I watched him one day, I suddenly realised he was not being nasty through viciousness, he just had never been taught to respect man. Once that clicked in my brain I decided to do something about it.
‘How to Talk Horse!’
That’s when I took psychology courses. I had been with horses all my life, as had all the instructors and staff in the Riding school and yet none of us could begin to sort Rufus out. It would take something more.
Eventually I found Parelli Natural Horsemanship. I decided to give it a go. I was astounded. Within days this uncontrollable, unteachable horse that I had been advised to put down, was being ridden in just a headcollar and lead rope. It was unbelievebale, it was magic, it was also the saving of Rufus. We went to many, many classes, travelling all over the country and very quickly he became meek and totally biddable. He would follow me around like a puppy, wearing no bridle or headcollar.

As I gained a qualification in Natural Horsemanship I wrote an ecourse helping thousands of horse and pony owners to create this amazing relationship –
‘How to Talk Horse!’, at www.horseknowhow.com

I was able to ride him anywhere. He taught me about being Head of the Herd. I found out later that this poor horse had been kept in a field in Denmark for the first five years of his life with no handling of any sort. He just had never learnt about humans!

And he also reinstated that horses for courses lesson. Again I tried to do dressage with him and though he eventually was obedient his heart was not in it. It became clear when he jumped a five barred gate from a standstill that he was meant to jump.

His new owner wrote to me a few years later thanking me so much for such a wonderful horse - what a gentleman, she said, she took him around competitions and gymkhanas and he always behaved impeccably.

My next horse was my dream horse. My next horse was my dream horse.

For many, many, many years I had desired with all my heart to have a dressage horse. I would spend hours watching those beautiful horses on the International Dressage to Music videos. Those horses really danced, but they were far outside my range, costing in the region of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

But wishes and dreams do come true.

I was walking through our Livery Yard one day when the lady owner suddenly called out to me. ‘You’re looking for a Dressage horse aren’t you Hazel?’ I stopped in my tracks. She continued, ‘I know of a jet black (my favourite colour) Hanoverian (my favourite breed) for sale. He is Prix St Georges, (ooh yes) and is for sale.’

There had to be a catch – the price.

‘Not sure how much Lady Silsoe (ah, expensive then) is wanting for him. Go and have a look.’

What had I to lose? I could at least look and who knows maybe just sit on this magnificent horse?

As soon as I walked in his stable, I knew, he was beautiful beyond anything I had ever seen. A jet black stunning horse but with the manners of a real gentleman. Yes I sat on him, nervous and very aware of my lacking skills. But I rode him, collected and extended trot, and what an extension, change of leg, half pass, oh heaven, yes I was in heaven.
His name for some extraordinary reason was Eeyore II.

His name for some extraordinary reason was Eeyore II.And the price? It was high, but I explained to Lady Silsoe that I could only afford a certain price far below that, and I would have to sell my car to do it!

To my utter astonishment she looked at me and said yes, ok. She loved the horse and wanted him to go to someone who would love him. Dreams come true.

My Proudest Moment

And they certainly did 4 years later when Eeyore II had the amazing opportunity of performing in front of the Queen and the Royal Family with Jennie Loriston-Clarke at Windsor for the Golden Jubilee.


What an achievement for both of us to perform with one of the greatest dressage riders ever in front of her Majesty. And Eeyore II performed astoundingly.

And there hangs another tale for the whole story of how we came to that point is told in
  ‘One of the Queen’s Horses’!   

But that was my proudest moment. One I will treasure all my life.

‘One of the Queen’s Horses’!Book Review

One of the Queen’s horses  by Hazel Reed

When Hazel Reed heard that volunteers where needed ride at the epic event ‘All the Queens horses’ which was part of the Queens Jubilee celebrations in May 2002. Hazel, being a dressage enthusiast signed up straight away. Little did she know that the honour of riding in front of the Queen would be a real test for her and her magnificent horse Eeyore II.

Hazel provides an astonishing insight behind the scenes at the Royal Windsor Horse show, from her highs to her lows, and ultimately the exciting part that she and Eeyore played, something that most of us will only ever dream about.

The book is beautifully written and truly inspiring, proving that anything is possible if you really want it.

Honestly, this is a fantastic read, I would recommend it to horsey people all over the world, and riders who perhaps need a little inspiration! Just in time for Christmas! Liz Kinnish

My most humiliating moment

This was a few years before I met Eeyore. I was being trained at Wellington Riding School for Dressage and had the privilege of riding their Grand Prix horse Sir Jellicoe in my lessons.

This horse was an old trooper.

I remember one day my instructor told me to do a collected canter large around the school. When I got to M at the corner of the school, Sir Jellicoe knew exactly what to do.

He immediately did a half-pass at canter from the side to the centre of the school and then proceeded (and I had never done one tempe changes of leg at that time) to do nine one tempe changes down the centre line. I was in paradise. Whoo, to be sitting on a horse doing this.  My instructor yelled at me across the school ‘Hazel what are you doing? I never told you to do that!’

I laughed, ‘I am doing nothing’ I shouted back, ‘the horse is doing it all!’

Such an old character was Sir Jellicoe (lovingly called Jelly!) and it was he who gave me my most humiliating moment.

I had just started a lesson in the International Arena. Sat on the audience seats were some visiting Germans who had come to watch some of the dressage lessons. How we teach the English!

I mounted Jelly and proceeded to walk down the school on a long rein, warm up, loosening. I would show them, we knew a thing or two us English!”

Suddenly one of the Germans, whom Jelly and I had just passed, whipped out a camera and proceeded to take a picture of me and Sir Jellicoe from behind us.

Jelly however had other ideas. Feeling his rump was not his best profile, this 16’ 2” grey horse whipped around as swift as a bird in flight to face the camera. So swift was his spin that I fell off! I fell off, at walk, from this Grand Prix horse, in the International Arena, in front of German visitors!

As I hit the ground and Jelly posed for the visitors, I felt very insignificant.

Book Review

Stages One, Two and Three – Riding & Stable Management. by Hazel Reed

These helpful guides are just what you need if you are a student training to become a riding instructor, they are also British Horse Society approved. All subjects that will appear in the exam are covered in a clear and concise format, making them easier to understand and remember.

Hazel has also included exam tips at the end of each chapter, which will be very useful for the student, such as how to stay focused and relaxed, and what the examiner would expect you to know during practical assessments.

I used these books in the past whilst I was training, and without their help and information I do not feel I would have done quite so well.

With an extensive index and glossary it is easy to dip into to find certain topics the reader may be unsure of.

Liz KinnishThe books also include some informative and very amusing illustrations, which will bring a smile to your face, and make revision slightly easier to bear.

These are essential reference books for candidates preparing to take their BHS Exams, or NVQ levels in horse care and riding. I still dip into them often, when I need a little help!

Liz Kinnish

The Stage Examinations BooksStage One

I discovered that as well as horses teaching me, I also loved to teach and I was being asked more and more to teach people to ride, to train horses and in horse management. I decided therefore to go through the training exams by the British Horse Society and gain that BHSAI that I was so unlucky not to achieve years ago. Of course the whole exam structure had now changed. Instead of a one day exam the qualification would now take days.

I started training and studying for the Stage Exams when to my utter surprise I realised there were NO books specifically for the exams. There was the BHS Handbook, a good book but not covering the exams as such. Nothing, no text books at all. By the time I was studying for the Stage Three I had gathered huge amounts of notes from lectures and research from books. I decided if there were no books, then I would attempt to write them.

Stage TwoIt was a huge undertaking as it had never been done before. But with the help of friends and colleagues the Stage One and Stage Two books were written.

I then had to find a publisher. I sent the manuscripts out to various publishers and waited. Some wrote back and said it was not their area, one had gone out of business, but then a phone call from a major equine publisher to say they would publish. This was followed by another acceptance from a major publisher, one which we chose to go with.

However some weeks down the line there was disappointment. The publisher wanted to publish Stage One and Stage two books together. This was not how I had written them. I specifically wanted the two exams separate, as they were two individual exams. But no the publisher would not move. And also they refused the Stage three book altogether as they wanted to see how the Stage One/Two succeeded. Neither did they want photos and would not pay for any of the drawings I had in the book.

I was devastated.

Now I had a choice. Either to accept and hope for the best, or…………..

But I was an unknown in the publishing world. I had the help of friends and colleagues it is true but no publishing experience apart from the fact that I knew exactly how I wanted the books.

Stage ThreeEquine books at that time were just printed without any thought of design or typesetting. I knew that the only books that were specifically designed for studying at that time were computer books. Microsoft manuals were superb for learning from, their design was easy to follow and made studying much easier.

That was what I wanted the books to be, a single book for each exam, which had a cut off point. That was always one problem how much or little to learn of each subject for each exam. Photographs to be included. Typesetting as computer books were designed.

I decided to go alone. This was a massive risk for an unknown author and an unknown publisher in a very clique industry.

I risked it. I remember designing the cover, the books, the typesetting was done by a colleague and I paid for the printing and publishing, setting up my own publishing house Nova Publications.

Preliminary Teaching TestI ordered 500 copies of the Stage One books. A point that my then brother-in-law was aghast at, stating I should never have printed that many, they would stay in my garage forever. Here I learnt that people are all too eager to tell you how much a failure you will be! Within three months those 500 books were sold, within 6 months I had to order a second thousand, and now 14 years later they are still one of the best selling text books on the market, and the British Horse Society is my biggest customer!

Of course the publishing of the Stage Two was dependent on the success of the Stage One and so on. Today the series includes Stages One, Two and Three and the newly updated Preliminary Teaching Test.

It was a real David and Goliath moment. So don’t ever give up or be overwhelmed by authority or the establishment. Be committed to what you want and drive for it!

Book Review

The Preliminary Teaching Test  by Hazel Reed

This book is the final book of Hazel’s series. It focuses on the preliminary teaching test to become a riding instructor. It covers all the topics on the BHS exam syllabus including lunge lessons and how to teach a group session.

This book also includes a lot of information of what is required to become a good understandable instructor and to achieve the best from their pupils.

Liz Kinnish

With helpful hints on how to keep eye contact with your pupils to what the examiner will expect from the student in the practical exam.

This guide will give the student confidence in their teaching ability, pushing the student to become the best instructor they can be. This is also the revised edition which now includes sports psychology.

Liz Kinnish
 

Buy more of Hazels books here

How to make your horse supple Catch your horse or pony in the field Join up/Bond with your Horse
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