Founded in 1967, the Certified Horsemanship Association is a non-profit organization that certifies equine professionals, accredits equine facilities, and provides educational and professional resources to its programs and members. CHA’s mission is to promote excellence in horsemanship safety and education for the entire horse industry. Learn more on their website.
180 Ranch instructors are CHA certified. To become certified, they each attended a 5-day certification where they participated in mock riding lessons and demonstrated their ability to teach groups safely and competently while being evaluated by CHA Master Instructors.
180 Ranch chose to align with CHA for its emphasis on safety, excellence in instruction, simple yet thorough horsemanship manuals, and inclusiveness of all rider disciplines and skill levels. As a CHA program member, 180 Ranch instructors teach CHA curriculum and award our students CHA level certificates of achievement. This allows us to help set goals and track students’ progress.
Skills demonstrated at each CHA Level
Level 1
At level 1, students demonstrate that they are able to:
- Safely mount and dismount their horses
- Walk and trot with balance and control
- Identify parts of the tack and grooming tools
- Groom, saddle, and bridle their horse
- and more
Level 2
At level 2, students demonstrate that they are able to:
- Sit and post the trot
- Canter/lope their horse
- Balance in half seat
- Identify important parts of the horse
- Recognize different horse colors and markings
- and more
Level 3
At level 3, students demonstrate that they are able to:
- Canter/lope in the correct lead
- Describe the use and mechanics of various tack
- Utilize more advanced rein and leg aids
- Recognize different horse behavior and herd dynamics
- and more
Level 4
At level 4, students demonstrate that they are able to:
- Perform working trot, medium trot, and extended trot
- Demonstrate lead changes
- Describe signs of health and illness in a horse
- Identify poor and correct conformation in a horse
- and more
Students must pass both a written and a riding test to earn each certificate and may not earn a higher level certificate before earning the lower level certificates.
Students are not required to work toward the level certificates, but it is strongly encouraged. Working through the CHA levels ensures the student gets a well-rounded horsemanship education.
Ready to start your horsemanship education journey? Email info@180ranchnwa.com for available lesson times