The owner of a horse who was injured when three cyclists came “flying past, hurling abuse” said she wants to raise awareness of the issue.
Tamsin Reynolds had taken her 18hh heavyweight hunter Zeke out with a friend and they were nearly back at the yard when they saw the bikes coming towards them “at speed”.
Tamsin asked the cyclists to slow down but they took no notice.
“I used a hand signal and they saw it but completely ignored it,” she said.
“I asked them verbally to slow down but they ignored that too and just came flying past us.”
Tamsin said her friend’s horse is not confident on the roads, but both riders managed to keep their seats and regain control of their spooked horses.
“The cyclists hurled some abuse back at us,” she said. “So I yelled after them that they needed to respect other users of the road. At no point did they stop or look to see if we were ok.”
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Tamsin realised at this point that Zeke was lame, having she assumes knocked himself as he spooked at the cyclists.
The 20-year-old gelding, who had been intermittently lame since, was yesterday (14 August) diagnosed with inflammation around the tendons and check ligament.
“Luckily he’s sound now, but he’s on two to three weeks’ field rest before I can even think about riding,” Tamsin said.
“He’s been having a lot of cold hosing – I’m buying a cold water boot – and have got some gel from the vet; I’m trying anything to help him get back on the road as soon as possible.
“He’s a hunter and I want to be getting him fit for the season, but I’m a month behind – and it was all just completely unnecessary.”
Tamsin posted about the incident on Facebook pages for her area, near Blandford in Dorset, and says a number of people replied to say they had experienced cyclists “being very rude and ignoring anyone else on the road”.
“I’ve been a cyclist and a driver and a rider, so I can understand it from all points and there’s no need for this level of disrespect,” Tamsin said. “They were all about their optimum time, with no concern about the impact they’d have. Now I don’t know what to do if I meet a cyclist, and they ignore you asking them to slow down.
The double Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist will be
“I was lucky; I’ve got insurance to pay for the vet’s bills, other people might not. And what would have happened if there had been a car behind us or a tractor coming out of a field?
“I’m lucky my horse is going to be ok, but I’ve bought a helmet camera for when he’s back on the road; there could have been a horrendous incident.”
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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.
