Section Three · The Standard
Beat 1 · of 4
The Bands
Every examination is recorded in one of four Bands — D, C, B and A. Each marks how much of the discipline the rider holds, and what the standard opens next.
Beat 2 · of 4
Retest
The first result is not the end. A Member may Retest whenever they wish; a higher result replaces the last, and the highest Band is always kept. Here a rider returns from Band D to Band A.
Beat 3 · of 4
Progression
Article by Article, the standard builds into a Branch. With every Article held, Branch One — The Discipline — stands complete, conferred at Band A.
Beat 4 · of 4
What it opens
The standard reached opens further study — the Residencies, the Instructor's Licence, Recognition of Prior Learning, and, for the very few, the route to Fellowship.
The College of Working Equitation
The College Record
The standard the rider has reached, and what it opens
The Member
- Member
- Duarte Maria Vasconcelos
- Admitted
- 9 Jan 2026
- Home
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Horse
- Fidalgo · Lusitano
How to read this record
The score at the first sitting of each examination.
The highest Band the member holds — always retained.
A score later raised by Retesting the examination.
Each Article ends in an examination, recorded as a Band. A result of C or above meets the standard to progress to the next Article; a D is Retested towards C.
Retest — progression, not elimination. A Member may Retest whenever they wish to improve a result; there is no limit. A higher result replaces the previous result in the Record, and a lower Retest never reduces the higher Band already achieved.
The Four Bands — and what each opens
- Retest towards Band C.
- The Training Residency, after Branch One.
- At Mentored, the Extended Residency after Branch One.
- Fellow International Training Visits — after Branch One at Band B, for eligible Mentored Members.
- The Accredited Instructor pathway — after completion of Branch Three at Band B.
- International Competition Opportunities — for eligible Mentored Members who have completed the required Extended Residency period.
- The Applied Residency — after completion of Branch Three at Band A.
- Senior Instructor — after completion of Branch Three at Band A.
- Examining Instructor — Band A with the required Masters-level competition record.
- The route to Fellowship — subject to the requirements and consideration below.
The Three Branches
Examinations
16 of 16
First score
C
Retests
5
Current score
A
Completed
5 Dec 2026
The sport of partnership, expressed through fluency.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
Working Dressage, Ease of Handling, Speed and Cattle.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
Calm, precise, rhythmical, fluent — how every movement is read.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
The tasks of the working day, brought into the arena.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
The type, temperament and build the sport is written for.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
Walk, trot and canter — and the quality each must show.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
The seat from which every aid is given.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
The rider's fundamental tools of communication.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
Six stages, from Forward Tendency to Collection.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
The direction of the discipline: one rein, one pole.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
The traditional attire of horse and rider.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
How contact is carried, and refined toward lightness.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
The working saddle and its Iberian lineage.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
Where the discipline comes from, and who carried it.
Band A — the highest standard recorded by the College; opens the Applied Residency, Senior & Examining Instructor and the route to Fellowship.
The Iberian field and classical traditions behind the sport.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
The herdsman's pole, and the one-handed riding it demands.
Band B — a deeper, connected understanding; opens the Instructor pathway and competition.
Standing conferred
A
Branch One complete — The Discipline
All sixteen Articles examined and passed. Opened at Band C and raised across five Retests to the College's highest standard — Band A. Conferred 5 December 2026, the standard met for progression to Branch Two.
Examinations
0
First score
—
Retests
0
Current score
—
Opened
5 Dec 2026
Where the knowledge begins to be put into practice — how the horse's body works and is trained from the foundations to advanced work, and the rider's own role: position, balance, seat, leg, hand, independence and feel. It takes the rider from understanding Working Equitation to learning how to ride and train it.
Opened on completion of Branch One. The member has not yet begun its examinations.
Examinations
—
First score
—
Retests
—
Current score
—
Opens
—
How that training is taken into competition — Working Dressage, Ease of Handling, Speed and Cattle: what each trial requires, how it is judged and how marks are awarded, and how the training of the horse produces the performance seen in the arena.
Opens on completion of Branch Two.
Beyond the Curriculum
The curriculum, examinations, Bands and College Record stand complete in themselves. As the standard reached rises, it opens practical, teaching and competition pathways within the College.
The Residencies
Practical study in the founding countries, on Lusitanos, working with riders who carry the discipline at its highest level — and, at the highest level, with the Fellows on Masters-level courses.
Training › Extended › Applied
The Training Residency opens at Band C after Branch One (the Extended Residency at Mentored); the Applied Residency at Band A after Branch Three.
The Instructor's Licence
The College's qualification to teach and coach Working Equitation, carrying the curriculum into the training of other riders.
Accredited › Senior › Examining
Accredited Instructor after Branch Three at Band B; Senior Instructor after Branch Three at Band A; Examining Instructor when Band A is combined with the required Masters-level competition record.
Recognition of Prior Learning
Experienced Masters riders with verified Masters-level competition scores of 70% or above may apply to have their existing knowledge, experience and competition record reviewed by the Fellows. Where the College standard can already be demonstrated, the Fellows may approve an accelerated route through the relevant examinations and requirements. The standard remains exactly the same — the route recognises knowledge and experience already demonstrated. Each application is considered individually and remains subject to the Fellows' review.
The FellowshipFACWE
The College's highest distinction and office, held for life, and deliberately rare. The six standards below do not by themselves confer Fellowship — they establish what is required before a rider can be considered:
- Completion of the full Alvará curriculum.
- Band A across the required Articles and Branches.
- Band A in The Management of the Equine Athlete.
- A verified Masters-level competition score of 70% or higher.
- Recommendation by a WAWE International Judge.
- Nomination by an existing Alvará Fellow.
All six are required before consideration. Fellowship is then reserved for riders whose knowledge, riding and contribution to Working Equitation place them among the very best in the discipline. The Fellows are the College's Guardians of the Sport, carrying for life the distinction Fellow of Alvará College (FACWE).
Registrar of the College
Alvará — The College of Working Equitation