HORSE riders will be out in force later this month as part of a national safety campaign to encourage road users to be considerate when over taking horses.
Equine enthusiasts Evi Mawdsley and Stacey Walker have organised a hack in Teesdale on Sunday, September 17, as part of a campany by road safety group Pass Wide and Slow, which was launched in 2017.
Ms Mawdsley said: “It’s a national campaign with nearly all the post codes in England joining in.
“There will be about 30 local riders taking part.”
Horses and riders will set off from Peter and Gladys Stubbs’ farm, at Kinninvie, at 10am, head down the B6278 into Barnard Castle town centre before returning to Kinninvie via Stainton village.
She added: “There have been a lot of fatalities nationally even in the last few weeks and it is quite a horsey area around here.
“To get to some of the bridleways you do have to go on the road.
“We just want to be able to ride safely without worrying about the horses getting spooked from drivers and cyclists coming up at speed.”
According to the British Horse Society, there were 3,552 road incidents involving horses in 2022.
Of those incidents recorded, 68 horses were killed and 125 were injured with 139 people injured.
The campaign aims to encourage road users to slow their speed to 10mph and give at least two metres distance when overtaking to protect horses and their riders.
Ms Mawdsley said: “It’s not just motorists, it’s cyclists as well. Even if they could just shout hello when they are approaching so we can prepare our horses so when they pass it doesn’t spook them.”
She added: “We have some big banners to explain what we are doing and all riders will be wearing hi-viz jackets. Some of the horses will have sheets on with the message.”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
