‘You take your life in your hands’: medal-winning rider calls for change to make roads safer for horses

A car driving close behind a horse and rider who are wearing high-vis — Library image.

(Image credit: Lucy Merrell)

Multiple medal-winning para dressage rider Natasha Baker is backing calls for more awareness of changes to the Highway Code – as it emerged 68 horses were killed on Britain’s roads last year.

The British Horse Society (BHS) released its 2022 incident figures on 29 January. They showed that 3,552 reports were made last year, a 21% increase on 2021, despite the fact changes aimed at improving horse and rider safety applied from last January.

“Our fear is that guidelines aren’t being clearly explained and delivered – this needs to change. Urgent action is required to make every road user aware of the Highway Code changes and, critically, why it’s so important to pass horses with care. Only through working collaboratively to educate and drive awareness will we be able to stop these awful incidents from happening over and over again.”

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

TOPICS

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.

‘You take your life in your hands’: medal-winning rider calls for change to make roads safer for horses

“I am very passionate about safety,” Natasha said. “Hacking is a big part of my training, helping to build my horses’ fitness levels, but heading out on the roads can feel like you’re taking your life into your own hands.

The BHS says “urgent action” is needed to educate drivers.

“Horses are still being killed and injured on our roads, riders continue to be seriously injured and too many drivers underestimate the importance of driving carefully around horses,” said BHS director of safety Alan Hiscox.

You might also be interested in:

68 horses killed on Britain’s roads in 2022 and 139 riders injured

‘It beat winning gold at London 2012’: Paralympic medallist Natasha Baker shares details from her stunning wedding day