A plea to horse owners

olias

Why did the race organisers not have a steward or marshall at the location stated if it was a likely crossover point from a bridleway or other track onto the race 'circuit'?

Olias

rising_from_the_ashes

It's not always easy to know that these things are going on

I got stuck in the middle of a race (runners) in the woods yesterday - I'd been the whole way around and there had been NO notices or anything up to suggest there might be something going on

Even if there had been - after travelling all the way there, do they really expect people to just turn tail & go home? Seriously?

Why aren't these events advertised well in advance (we are there every weekend) and in lots of different places ie at the place, local papers etc etc

Given a choice I would rather avoid somewhere where there is an event - whether it's runners, orienteers, cyclists or basically any big group - but if I don't know, I can't .....

There is no excuse for being rude - but if other people had been 'having a go' then she was probably really stressed

lostinrates

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

It's not always easy to know that these things are going on

I got stuck in the middle of a race (runners) in the woods yesterday - I'd been the whole way around and there had been NO notices or anything up to suggest there might be something going on

Even if there had been - after travelling all the way there, do they really expect people to just turn tail & go home? Seriously?

Why aren't these events advertised well in advance (we are there every weekend) and in lots of different places ie at the place, local papers etc etc

Given a choice I would rather avoid somewhere where there is an event - whether it's runners, orienteers, cyclists or basically any big group - but if I don't know, I can't .....

There is no excuse for being rude - but if other people had been 'having a go' then she was probably really stressed

You cannot go somewhere else if your yard is on the route of these events.


I also note the op mentions the organisers said 'the stables' were told.

Its pretty impossible in some places to tell which places have ponies/horses. Rows of domestic looking detached houses can have a couple of acres behind each of them, for example. Our village has no Huge yard, of the like that holds indoor competitions, but several large ' yards' (I,e. professionals competing at international level, ) then medium yards, those are the places one sees from the road, but lots and lots of places have ' a couple of ponies or cobs' at the back. Between the three villages on this popular route for races and rallies there are easily properties with horses that number 'hundreds', or yards who cross this route to get to the large area of off road riding we are a clue of miles From.

Its simply impossible to warn all equestrian users of a route in the way we are currently notified.

bouncydog1

Where we live there are very few spaces to exercise our horses so riders have no option other than to use the roads. My DD has endured abuse from other road users who think only they are entitled to use the roads. On the beach she asked a dog owner to control their dog because it literally ran up to her horse and swung on the tail! DD was concerned her horse would kick out and kill the dog - result abuse from the owner! It is very unfortunate when any accident occurs but the onus is on all road users to take care. The swish of running shoes on road can spook the safest animal because the noise is unusual - something a horse will pass 9 days out of 10 suddenly morphs into a predator on day 10, no matter how unreasonable that is to us! The onus to take care is on all road users - unless the road has been closed to all others then runners and riders have equal responsibility.

One of my friends took to carrying schooling whip - when cars passed too close (brushing her leg with wing mirror on one occasion) a firm smack was applied to the windscreen!!

Melaniep101

I'm currently not a horse owner, having lost my lovely chap last September, but when I was riding, I found that hacking out on roads was often quite a scary experience. I was fortunate that my horse was good in traffic, but there were times where runners or cyclists would creep up behind us and over take without calling ahead. It used to startle me sometimes, so you can imagine how a horse may react.

I think riders put up with a lot of unnecessary abuse and criticism for using the road, by other road users. One driver clipped my horses hock as he didn't feel he needed to give us any room, luckily no damage was done, and my horse remained very calm, but there was no need. On another occasion, my friend and I were followed by a spiteful teenager who made it his business to drive as close to the horses as possible, and rev and toot his horn. Again, unnecessary, dangerous and unprovoked.

I think people have a perception that horse riders are snooty, rich people who look down on others, but more often than not, we work darn hard to afford to keep our horses and are just normal folk!