Training and accreditations

All mounted officers must pass and annually maintain their National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Standard Equitation Course (SEC) qualification on Knowledge Hub (you will need to sign in). These courses ensure that all mounted officers maintain:

• a minimum SEC standard, knowledge and riding skills
• their level of accreditation  
• operational effectiveness 
• continued horse and rider development 

Core training

The SEC is 16 weeks and, on occasion, preceded by a four-week suitability assessment. To maintain the SEC qualification, mounted officers must undertake no fewer than 14 mounted training days a year in compliance with the NPCC mounted training manual. To reach this minimum standard, each mounted unit in each force area will create their own annual lesson plans specific to their needs, within the framework of the SEC NPCC national training manual.

The intermediate course, which allows a mounted officer to ride and train a horse at the remount stage, is four weeks long and is assessed by an NPCC assessor. 

The advanced course is a further level of qualification. Mounted officers will only be selected for the advanced training course if an NPCC instructor believes they are at the required standard to undertake the course. 

Training for the NPCC instructor role is four weeks long and allows the mounted officer to teach and assess the SEC. It also allows a mounted officer to teach and accompany senior officers while out in public. For more information go to the senior officers’ guidance manual on Knowledge Hub (you will need to sign in).

All mounted officers must attend a public order public safety (POPS) training centre annually. To qualify as a mounted training day, the following criteria must be met.

• A full day of equine training.
• An active riding lesson taken by an instructor with a recognised qualification (NPCC mounted instructor or British Horse Society (BHS) Stage 3 coach or above). Each lesson should be for a minimum of 45 minutes for an individual lesson or one hour for a group session.
• Continuing professional development, including an equine input and/or practical session. Patrol lessons should also be given to assist in training officers to ride in an operational environment.
• A POPS input lesson, where officers will ride in full POPS equitation equipment. The horse will be fully fitted in their POPS equipment. This will be in addition to attending training with foot duty colleagues for annual accreditation in POPS mounted tactics or horseback. Go to POPS module E2 on College Learn for more information (you will need to sign in). Further advice and information can be found in the POPS standards, training, equipment and resources document on College Learn (you will need to sign in) and Public Order Public Safety APP. 

Police forces must comply with the Equality Act 2010 and have due regard to their public sector equality duty.

Police forces should have a policy in place that informs the decision to suspend a mounted officer if they are unable to meet the SEC standard (you will need to sign in to Knowledge Hub). The policy should outline, and include a clear rationale for, a transparent development process and appeal process.

Forces should consider video-recording assessments so that they can be reviewed in the event of an appeal against the assessor’s decision. Appeals should be referred to the chair of the national training advisory group.   

Depending on the qualification, an officer’s prior and/or external equitation accreditation qualifications can be used as evidence of competence and may reduce the length of the SEC course that an individual officer is required to complete. These decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis (you will need to sign in to Knowledge Hub) by the individual force.

Chief inspectors or above can ride out in public without having completed the SEC. These officers may need to be present on various ceremonial or other events that require visible senior leadership. They must be accompanied by a trained NPCC instructor and will not be deployed in POPS. Other guidance is provided in the senior officers’ guidance manual. 

This guidance does not circumvent any other national programme, such as the SEC, where there is a set standard and programme. The senior officers’ guidance manual cannot be used as an alternative to completing the SEC, nor does it qualify senior officers to ride unaccompanied or be deployed in operational duties. Senior officers referred to in the guide are those officers who hold the rank of superintendent or above. Senior officers should be trained to minimum standards of horse riding, demonstrating control of a police horse in the public environment, and should be reassessed every year.  

Police staff roles within mounted units may vary for each force. Those required to exercise or train horses should be assessed by an NPCC-accredited mounted assessor to meet the required standard or equivalent BHS stage 1 or 2.

Equine police volunteers will be used in some forces. They should be assessed by an NPCC-accredited mounted assessor to the force required standard or equivalent to BHS stage 2 riding and BHS stage 2 care. Non-riding volunteers should meet the force required standard or equivalent to BHS stage 2 care. Each force should follow their own induction programme to ensure that volunteers work at the required standard. 

Police forces should follow the mounted policing standard operating procedure on Knowledge Hub (you will need to sign in) for all stages of police horse training.

Horses can be deployed in POPS events when they are deemed operationally suitable.

Officers required to perform the role of POPS commander must pass the C1.3 Mounted POPS Commanders course on College Learn (you will need to sign in) prior to operational deployment.