PATH Intl Workshops and Certification
Becoming an Instructor
Becoming a NARHA certified instructor may be easier than you think. Let us answer some of your questions:
How long does it take to become an Instructor?
Becoming an instructor will be on your timetable. If you were to go through our onsite program in conjunction with PATH online requirements, it would take you approximately 6 months if you attended 1 time per week. There is no rush, it can be accomodated to your schedule. You should have competent riding experience, after all you will be teaching riding skills.
What is the cost involved with becoming an Instructor?
Horses Help will charge a nominal training fee. It is part of our community service to train great instructors for Arizona! The bottom line is we want safe programs for everyone no matter what location you are working from.
The costs you can expect are:
- $45 dollars to join NARHA and gain access to the online tests that are necessary to pass the National Certificaton.
- Approximately $600 dollars for the onsite clinical classroom and testing weekend. If you plan on taking this out of state, you will incur travel costs as well. Horses Help will have a minimum of one Certification weekend per year in Arizona. Ususally this occurs in September and or February.
- You will also have to obtain your CPR and First aid Training. Cost will vary according to location. We will usually do a renewall CPR/First Aid training in August. If you need CPR training, contact Brittany Winkelman at brittany.w@horseshelp.org.
- If you are not a good rider and need some practice, you may need riding lessons. Costs will vary according to center. If you are training to become an instructor for Horses Help, we will coach you through your certification testing pattern .
Do I need to be a great rider to become a Therapeutic Riding Instrutor?
You will be teaching riding instruction to people with special needs, so you will need to be an accomplished rider. You don't have to be an olympic equestrian, but you will have to pass a basic riding test for national certification.
Do I need to know all about special needs clients and their disabilites?
You do not have to be a doctor or a therapist. We will teach you about working with the special needs community and how this relates to Therapeutic Riding. You will go through 25 hours of supervised teaching during your training process so that you become familiar with many types of disabilies and how to manage them in class.