Thursday, 30 January 2025
British Equestrian is delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with the University of Stirling to deliver its prestigious Level 4 Coaching Certificate programme in conjunction with British Rowing. This collaboration secures the future of the programme and introduces an enhanced delivery model designed to meet the evolving needs of equestrian and rowing coaches.
The University of Stirling’s involvement brings a fresh approach to the programme, which will now include a greater number of learning units. The course will be delivered primarily via online distance learning, supplemented by two in-person events per year at central locations to ensure greater flexibility and accessibility for the coaches attending.
David Padgen, who oversees the Level 4 Coaching Certificate programme as part of his role as Relationships Officer at British Equestrian, commented, “I’m thrilled to be continuing our partnership with British Rowing to deliver our Level 4 programme and delighted to welcome the University of Stirling on board. Their expertise and experience are exceptional and I’m confident our coaches will benefit greatly from this next evolution of the highly valued programme. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to our previous partners, the University of Gloucestershire, for their invaluable support over the past few years.”
Stephen Macdonald, Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching at the University of Stirling continued, "On behalf of the University of Stirling, I am delighted that British Equestrian and British Rowing have chosen the University of Stirling as their Higher Education partners in the delivery of their Level 4 programme. We are excited to start working with their high-performing coaches in September 2025 as they continue their individual development journeys."
Loretta Williams, Programme Manager at British Rowing said, “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with British Equestrian which provides a unique opportunity for our coaches to discuss key coaching concepts with peers across different sporting contexts and practices. We are excited that the University of Stirling is joining us in this partnership and look forward to seeing our coaches develop while taking this next step in their coaching journey.”
The Level 4 Coaching Certificate remains a two-year course. Coaches wishing to enrol require a minimum of a Level 3 Coaching Certificate, BHS Stage 4 in Complete Horsemanship or RDA Advanced Coach qualification.
Coaches who successfully complete the course will be awarded a postgraduate diploma from the University of Stirling. Coaches will then have the option to extend their studies for a third year to earn a Masters of Science (MSc) degree, with the option to apply for a student loan to cover the costs of all three years.
For coaches interested in joining the next intake of the Level 4 Coching Certificate, David Padgen and Course Director Nicky Fuller will join Stephen Macdonald and Loretta Williams for an online information session to deliver further details about the course, followed by the opportunity for attendees to ask any questions they may have. This session will take place on Tuesday 4 March 2025, 10.30am - 3.30pm.
Register for the information session here.
Following the information session, the application form for the Level 4 Coaching Certificate will be made available on the British Equestrian website. Applications for the programme are open from Wednesday 5 March until Sunday 11 May 2025.
More information about the Level 4 Coaching Certificate is available here.