An owner has said she “doesn’t want to ride out on the roads again” after a hit and run.
Lynn Flynn was walking her 20-year-old thoroughbred gelding Newton, who had been on box rest, in hand when he was struck by a trailer being towed by a van on Duke Street, Sheffield, on 26 October.
Lynn told H&H: “My physio had recommended some short walks after he’d hurt his back and I thought I would take him on a 10-minute circuit from the yard. The van was coming towards us and had a cement mixer on the trailer which had moved partly on to my side of the road as they came round a slight bend – the road is barely wide enough for two cars but he didn’t slow down.
“The noise of the trailer spooked Newton and as it passed the trailer clipped Newton’s hock. I shouted out to the driver and he must have seen in his mirrors something had happened. He carried on, and then stopped at a junction ahead but he didn’t get out or acknowledge me and then he drove off – he didn’t care.”
Lynn said she believes the trailer would have been damaged and have blood on it.
“Newton was pulling me backwards and his leg was pouring with blood. I dread to think what would have happened if I’d been on him, he was prancing and snorting and I had to struggle to get him back to the yard, five minutes away,” she said.
“He has a hole and lacerations on his hock – the vet has injected antibiotics and flushed the joint but he’s not putting weight on it. We won’t know for a few weeks when the vet comes back to re-examine if I will be able to get back on and ride in the future.”
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Lynn said she usually wears a hat camera when riding but did not have it on this occasion, and she did not get the driver’s registration plate.
“It’s a small quiet road in a sleepy village, you wouldn’t think anything could happen there. If it can happen on a quiet road like that it makes you think what could happen on a busy main road with lots of vehicles. There were other people around but no one offered any help which was upsetting,” she said.
“Newton is an experienced horse on the roads but this has upset me and I don’t want to go out on him, I’m frightened what his reaction will be after this. I hope I still get a few more years out of him and hope I will get back on and ride,” said Lynn. “I’m fearful for others riding on the roads now but I hope at some point I’ll conquer my fear and get back riding out.”
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said the investigation is ongoing.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
