Every 2 yrs the British Horse Society (BHS) requires all registered instructors to attend a Continual Professional Development day (CPD), or achieve a further exam. As it is now 2 yrs since I achieved my UKCC I needed to update my CPD.

So the course I booked was for "Developing the ability to achieve" run by Clive Milkins, FRDA, BHSII ISM on behalf of the BHS.

The course was held at the superb Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, a venue world renowned for its facilities and competitions.

The day was somewhat in doubt given the great storm of 2013 arrived over night!
I ventured out in the hurricane with my trusty old truck, dodging fallen trees and floods, and after a few hours arrived at Hartpury.

Its been a long time since I was there, I did my stage 3 years ago there and it brought back some great memories driving up the lane past the cross country course.

The day began and soon we were all listening intently to Clive talking to us about his experiences and then moving on to motivation and how and what motivates us.

Having recently achieved my coaching qualifications, I thoroughly understood where Clive was coming from, some were a little confused, but for me, it was spot on.

The day continued with Clive coaching 2 sets of riders, one group novice, the 2nd more advanced, but essentially the coaching consisted of the use of exercises aimed at helping the rider realise where they are weak and making them think for themselves.

Having done coaching and teaching, the coaching is one of the hardest to achieve, as you are virtually silent!

I feel that I have been able to revisit my UKCC and been given a few more additions to my tool box.

The next training day is November, the British Dressage Convention, which will be another great trip to Hartpury.