Welcome to Galop 2
Galop® 2 is the Galop of independence: you get your horse ready without help, lead it precisely on foot and ride a course on your own at all three gaits, up to a small fence.
Galop 2 has an official title that says it all: Riding the three gaits. In Galop 1 you met the horse, rose to the trot and cantered a few strides, often following the others. Galop 2 makes you independent: you ride courses on your own to a set of gaits and tracks — this gait, on this line, at this point — alternating between sitting in the saddle and balancing on the stirrups.
What you will be able to do
Riding
Ride alone at all three gaits
Mount unaided, adjust your stirrups, tighten the girth; sit or balance at trot and canter; link transitions and figures; jump a small fence.
On foot
Lead with precision
Follow an exact track, trot in hand, back up, and move the horse’s head, shoulders and quarters.
Care
Get your horse ready
Approach it in the field, groom it, pick out its front feet, tie it up, saddle it, bridle it, feed it and clean the saddle.
Knowledge
Understand the horse
Its senses, life in a herd, feeding, housing, more coat colours, its legs, three breeds, school figures and the rules of the arena.
How Galop 2 works
Like every Galop, Galop 2 has three modules. Module 1, the specific part, covers riding, getting the horse ready (saddling, bridling, cleaning the saddle) and some knowledge: the aids to go forward, the parts of the bridle and saddle, school figures. The common part brings together module 2, work on foot and care, and module 3, knowledge of the horse and general knowledge.
Your instructor — qualified, an FFE member and holding an FFE examiner code — awards the Galop, either at an exam session or by continuous assessment over lessons and courses, one module at a time or all at once. Galop 2 is yours once all three modules are passed; it then appears on your FFE licence, the rider’s membership card.
- Riding: a Galop 2 test course, from the mounting block to the small fence.
- On foot: an exact track, some trotting in hand, a rein-back, and moving the head, shoulders and quarters.
- Care: getting your horse fully ready, from field or stable to the arena.
- Knowledge: spoken questions, parts to point to, figures to draw on paper.
Remember
You must hold an FFE licence. Under 18, the specific part of Galop 2 can only be passed once Galop 1 has been passed in full. In the saddle, a riding hat to equestrian safety standards is compulsory.
How to use these pages
Each page deals with one topic from the programme; the boxes flag the essentials, safety, tips and common mistakes. What you saw in Galop 1 is simply recalled; what belongs to a later Galop gets a one-line mention. The last page gathers the test course, a crib sheet, a quiz and a checklist.
Tip
Read a page before the lesson where you will need it, and put it to work straight away: name the brushes as you groom, draw the figures before you ride, spot the breeds as you pass the stables. And ask your instructor which course they will use.
Contents
- 01WelcomeOverview
- 02The five sensesKnowledge
- 03Life in the herdKnowledge
- 04The mouth and mealsKnowledge
- 05Feed, water, mealsCaring for the horse
- 06Housing, catching, turning outKnowledge
- 07More coats and patchesKnowledge
- 08The legsKnowledge
- 09Three breedsKnowledge
- 10GroomingCaring for the horse
- 11Quick-release knot and bridleCaring for the horse
- 12Saddling, saddle careCaring for the horse
- 13Work on footOn foot
- 14Mounting, girth, reinsIn the saddle
- 15Going forward, changing gaitIn the saddle
- 16Sitting or light seatIn the saddle
- 17Figures and arena rulesKnowledge
- 18The first fenceIn the saddle
- 19Equestrian activitiesKnowledge
- 20RevisionRevision