Badly broken arm for rider who ‘bounced off’ car that passed too close
A rider who broke one bone in her arm and dislocated another when she “bounced off” a car that was passing too closely is now unable to work for weeks.
Carla Smith, who backs and produces horses, was left lying in the road by the driver responsible.
She told H&H she was hacking on young cob Finn, with a friend, in the Manley area of Cheshire on 20 January, when the car approached from the rear.
“He just kept creeping up behind me,” she said.
“The road narrows slightly there but there are lots of places riders can pull in and let drivers pass safely. I’d asked him to slow down but he was just sitting there; I thought ‘What’s this guy doing?’
“Ten more yards and we could have pulled in but as I put out my arm to stop him, he drove straight into me.
“My friend thought the bang she heard was my whip but I wasn’t carrying it.”
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Carla fell, hitting the car and landing on the road, while Finn galloped off, away from home.
“I knew my arm was broken straight away but just shouted to [my friend] Jess: ‘Go and get him, go and get him!’” she said. “Luckily, he turned and came back.
“The driver paused; I saw his brake lights, but for maybe five seconds, then he just drove off and left us.”
Carla praised two council employees removing signs for a marathon that had been held in the area, who came to her aid. She was taken to hospital, where she underwent surgery two days later.
“I’ve broken one of the bones in my forearm and the other’s dislocated from the elbow,” she said. “I’m climbing the walls already and I can’t work for weeks – and I’m self-employed. One of our vets who was here said it was horrific; I’ve done a good job in breaking it.
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“I’ve been doing my job for a very, very long time, been hacking by myself for a long time and seen some stupid drivers, but never anything like this, it was horrific. If he’d waited five seconds, he’d have had plenty of space.
“This poor little cob; he’s a bit of a worrier and a real sweetheart; he didn’t need this to happen.”
A spokesman for Cheshire Police said inquiries are ongoing, and asked anyone with information to call 101, quoting reference Iml616743.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.