The heartbroken owner of a horse who suffered a fatal injury when he was hit by a trailer towed by a tractor wants to “do him proud” by helping protect others on the road.
Amy Hilton had been preparing her much-loved seven-year-old gelding Archie for a season of eventing, having spent years building up their partnership. But last Tuesday (18 February), he had to be put down after the collision.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Amy told H&H. “It feels like a big part of me is missing. We backed him, I was the first person to ride him; we were such a pair. I need to try to be strong because he isn’t here any more.”
Amy was riding a route she and Archie took frequently, near Iden Green in Kent, on a road she described as wide enough for two cars to pass.
“I heard a loud noise from behind and knew there was a big vehicle coming,” she said. “I saw the big tractor and trailer and knew I needed to get into a safe space – but the tractor wasn’t holding back. It was right behind us; so intimidating and scary.”
Amy said Archie was not too bothered by the tractor’s proximity at that point, but that he was becoming slightly tense and uncertain.
“I thought ‘The safest thing will be to get off, as this tractor’s not slowing down and this could be a disaster’,” she said. “I saw a little gap and thought I’d try to stand in it, the tractor would stop and I could turn round and pass it. I got in the space and didn’t have a chance to look round; the tractor was overtaking. It was like a nightmare; it was so big and loud and I was thinking ‘Please can this end’. Then it was nearly past us, and Archie’s back end just fell. The trailer hit him, his whole leg was on the side and his body fell down.
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“I was screaming so loudly. I just wanted the tractor to stop and help me but he’d gone, and Archie was just lying there.”
Amy phoned for help and somehow, Archie managed to get to his feet and was taken home.
“The vet came and said ‘What’s happened to this horse?’” she said. “The tendon had just gone. The vet said ‘I’m really sorry but we can’t even operate; we’re going to have to put him down’.”
Amy posted on a local Facebook group to try to find the driver, and reported the incident to police.
“He wasn’t stopping; it was his road and I was in his way,” she said. “I don’t understand what was going through his head, and he’s a tractor driver, he should know better.
“I had the biggest high-vis jacket on imaginable so he couldn’t have missed me, and I couldn’t have made myself stand out any more. He needs to be found because you can’t drive like that, and if he gets away with it, anyone can drive like that.”
Amy said there were other witnesses to the driver’s actions on that day, which are to be submitted to the police.
“It’s so sad because the girls at the yard are all scared to go hacking now,” she said. “They’re all in shock. He was young and talented and we knew each other inside out. For that to be taken away is so tough and I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I do want to make him proud.”
As well as helping police in hope of catching the driver, Amy wants to get warning signs put up in the area to help protect other horses – and riders.
“I hadn’t really thought about how I felt but I did think I was going to get crushed under him; if I’d been on him, I could have gone under the wheels,” she said. “My mum rode his mum, Spring Sensation, and his owner gave him to me so she and my mum were heartbroken too. He was family.
“I don’t want to scare people but I do want to raise awareness. I thought about maybe a hashtag #HackOutForArchie; I want people to enjoy hacking but for drivers to think. It’s not ‘just a horse’, it’s not one heartbeat, it’s two. If the driver had just waited, it would have been ok.”
Amy added that she has to pass the place it happened every day.
“That’s tough but that’s where I want the sign,” she said. “Then it will be a bit in remembrance of him as well. I almost wish it had been me who was hurt; I’d have had my arm in a sling for six months to save him.
“I want to do him proud because he was taken too early. He had the best life and should have had many years left. He didn’t deserve this.”
A spokesperson for Kent Police told H&H officers on patrol were flagged down after the collision.
“The driver of the tractor left the scene and enquiries into the incident are ongoing,” she said.
“Anyone with information should contact Kent Police on 01622 604100, quoting 18-0638, or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or by completing the online form.”
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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.
