The owner of a pony who was left catastrophically injured in the road by the driver who hit him with his rider stuck underneath hopes sharing their story may help save others.
Abby Carvosso’s daughter Sofia was uninjured when her pony Paddy landed on her on the road in Surrey last Thursday (5 June), but the 22-year-old Connemara had to be put down at the scene.
“Our gorgeous boy,” Abby told H&H. “We called him Perfect Paddy because he was just a dream, and he was even perfect then. He got up; he was so brave, he didn’t panic, he was still lovely. But the vet arrived, looked at me and just said: ‘no’. It was cut and dried, and we just had to put him down in the lane.”
Abby said Paddy, who had taught countless young riders all they know, and won “everything”; Cotswold Cup, Pony Club and national schools association championships, had just been loaned out to a 10-year-old, and Sofia, who rides professionally for Andrew Balding, was helping keep him fit by hacking out.
“I was at home, about 10 minutes away, and Sofia rang me while she was still on the ground and said ‘I think they’ve killed him’,” she said.
“It’s one of those country roads that’s narrow with high hedgerows and Sofia said she could hear a car coming so she stopped. It came round the corner, screeched its brakes, went into the hedge then smashed into Paddy and Sofia.
“She said she was crying out ‘Help’, and she heard the driver stop – and then drive off. Thank god she was ok. It was hideous enough with our darling pony but it’s not worth thinking about what could have happened.”
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Abby said she does not really use social media but she posted appealing for information and has had hundreds of people contacting her and police. A man has since been “assisting police with enquiries”.
“My daughter’s so lovely; she said ‘Mum, it’s going to change his life’ but people have to be accountable for their actions,” Abby said.
“We’d had Paddy 10 years and he’d taught so many little jockeys to be good riders, and was still bossing it round the 90cms. He had so much still to give.”
Abby said her children’s driving instructor, who keeps a horse at the same yard, has always spread the word on passing horses safely with her clients.
“And partly, if anything comes from this, it needs to be awareness,” she said. “It’s life-changing for the driver and that’s the risk you take by driving like that. It could be a person walking a dog. If we can do anything to drive awareness; that’s all I’d want from this, because that’s all that can come from it now. And it could save another horse’s, another rider’s life.”
A Surrey Police spokesperson told H&H the man is assisting officers, but the force is still appealing for information.
“Were you in the area at around 8.30pm on Thursday, 5 June?” she said. “Do you have any information that might assist our investigation? Please get in touch quoting PR/ SYP-202606040795 via our website or social media. In an emergency, always call 999.”
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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.
