MANY congratulations to Rosemarie Ahern O’Gorman who, having worked through her higher level BHS Coach exams over the last few years, was recently informed that she had passed her most recent assessment and is now a BHS Performance Dressage Coach BHSI.

Rosemarie, who is well-known in many branches of equestrianism, has displayed huge commitment in achieving this goal as all of the practical exams for stage 5/performance level take place in Britain so quite a bit of travelling was involved for these and for training.

“To the best of my knowledge, I am the first person in Ireland to be awarded the Performance Dressage Coach BHSI,” Rosemarie revealed to the Irish Horse World .

“There is an eventing, show jumping and dressage pathway for stages 4 and 5 for those who would like to specialise in the different disciplines, While I completed my stage 4/BHSII eventing qualification, I felt I would prefer to specialise in dressage for the stage 5/performance, as I am primarily a freelance dressage coach. For the stage 5 exams you have to ride up to British Dressage Advanced level and coach to advanced medium, as well as undertake Horse Care exams covering breeding, the management of young horses, the care of competition horses, nutrition, and veterinary. You also have to sit Business Management exams and prepare a Literary Review and a number of presentations.”

Susan Spratt, BHS manager for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, was also delighted with Rosemarie’s achievement.

“Congratulations to Rosemarie Ahern O’Gorman for achieving the Performance Dressage Coach BHSI – she is the only coach with this qualification on the island of Ireland. This is a high-level qualification for those who are a role model for the equestrian industry and who are committed to inspire others to be their best. The British Horse Society professional qualifications are recognised and sought after all over the world.”

If anyone is interested in emulating Rosemarie, details can be found at www.bhs.org.uk