Cambridgeshire Area

It seems unbelievable that as the number of horses and riders who want to hack continue to increase then so do the conditions on our roads worsen. To my mind, road safety IS a welfare issue and goes hand in hand with bridleways. As a proud owner of a lovely rubber ménage, I still acknowledge that it is no good for my pony either physiologically or mentally to spend all her ridden time trotting circles in a ménage yet the alternative is fairly scary.

There is good news of course, the BHS have worked hard in the background with appropriate agencies to put the case for the horse on the road - many will have signed the recent petition concerning riding two abreast - and the news from that was positive. Not so good was the result of the petition for a speed limit on country roads though I thought that there was some give and it made it clear that if anyone thinks they have a problem with speeding on their country road, they need to seriously tackle the parish, district and county councils until someone hears them!

The important thing is that riders stick together on issues and keep trying. There really is no point in saying, 'oh well we can't do anything.' If you think like that then you won't do anything and things will only get worse. Your first port of call is your parish council and if you go along with a few friends, it is surprising how much influence you can have.

Next stop is your District Councillor and then your County Councillor. Be organised, be more than one of you and have a clear view of what you want to achieve eg speed limits, horse signs or even, very importantly, general awareness by the rest of the road using public of a situation. And don't forget your MP. I say this often to people and they again say 'oh well what can she or he do?.' Well quite a lot really and at the very least he/she should realise that they have horse riders in their area who are struggling with road situations.
Our Safety HQ is also extremely helpful and many situations that you encounter, they have already come across and either solved or given practical advice to riders so best to pick up the phone and speak to them as well or go on to the very excellent website.

Of course you can always speak to me as well and many people do.

On a personal level what can you do? Ride responsibly on the roads. Be professional. Above all wear Hi-Viz clothing, unbelievably there are still people with green jackets on brown horses that simply cannot be seen against a hedge. I can't imagine the arrogance of someone who feels they don't need Hi-Viz - they are endangering their life, their horse's life and probably the life of a motorist who maybe genuinely can't see you.

There are so many excellent products on the market now - I'm a very lazy rider so for me it has to be something easy to wear like a waistcoat or jacket or something I always add to the tack like rein stops or a martingale. Keep it simple and you will use it. A Hi-Viz jacket can be seen for a considerable distance.

Also ensure that you teach younger people how to hack out sensibly eg keeping led pony on inside of you, nervous riders or horses nearest to verge, experienced riders front and back and that you have a plan for when a car goes past, who goes to the front and the rear. Sort all this out before you leave the yard. Strongly discourage use of mobile phones on the road, it looks sloppy and casual and why should people respect you if you are not behaving professionally? And sadly, these days you can't really train a horse on the road so you need to make sure before you venture out, that your horse or pony is obedient. This won't stop them being scared in traffic but it will give you a headstart in controlling them. Many riding clubs now over de-spooking training which is also very helpful and if your riding club isn't doing this, why not organise some yourself?

I do think it helps to take the riding and road safety test but if you don't want to make the whole commitment to actually taking the exam, I am happy to come along and we can have training (which is the most important) and a test simulation - you might then feel you want to take the actual test at a later date.

But above all, voice your concerns to people who can do something about them. Otherwise I fear we will be pushed off the roads and into our ménages or have to box up our horses to find bridleways, something that seems infinitely sad to me. Take an interest in your planning department's activities - will a new industrial estate mean that you risk life and limb to get to your bridleway? Tell them you want a safe route. These days local councils are very keen to promote health and have obesity targets as well so if they are not listening tell them that riding is a form of healthy exercise and you intend to be taken seriously. At the very least we should not lose what we already have in terms of access to road and if riders joined together more, we might even get back some routes. Other counties do put safe routes alongside roads so that bridleways connect - we need to be pushing all the time for this. Check out the BHS website for safety on a regular basis, there is some very interesting information there.

If I can be of help, do contact me. I'm very happy to come and talk to small groups of riders, large clubs or do some informal training. Why not include a road safety class or evening and have some fun?

Liz Wright
01354 741538 07967 33 96 86
liz.wright1@btconnect.com