The Ayrshire horse riding community is being urged to support a nationwide campaign aimed at raising awareness over the dangers posed by inconsiderate drivers.
Pass Wide and Slow events will be held all over the UK on Sunday, September 19 and locally there will be one staged in Ayrshire.
Organised by Maureen Patterson, the Ayrshire event will start and finish at Gemmell's Garden Centre, near Stair, and will loop out to Coylton.
The ride commences at 10.30am but horse riders are being asked to attend at 10am and it’s hoped that as many people as possible from the local horse riding community attend.
Entry to the event is via registration only – you cannot simply turn up on the day.
It’s also hoped that members of Police Scotland’s mounted unit will be in attendance.
Maureen said: “This is part of a national event for horse lovers and we’re busy trying to collect entries.
“We have had a few entries through Facebook and email and hopefully we’ll have a decent turnout on the day.”
Those who wish to take part must wear high-vis vests and equipment, hard hat, produce public liability insurance documents and possess an up-to-date horse passport, showing inoculations.
The BHS collates statistics each year to understand the rate of incidents involving horses and riders on UK roads.
In the last year alone (February 2020 to February 2021) there were:
- 1,010 road incidents involving horses have been reported to The British Horse Society
- Of these, 46 horses have died and 118 have been injured
- 130 people have been injured because of road incidents
- 45 per cent of riders were victims to road rage or abuse
- 80 per cent of incidents occurred because a vehicle passed by too closely to the horse
- 43 per cent of incidents occurred because a vehicle passed by too quickly
To register for the Ayrshire event, email Maureen at maureenstrathayle@btinternet.com or call (01292) 478277.
Entry forms must be produced on the day.
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