The owner of a horse who fell on the road after she was hit by a car, in front of witnesses, was shocked when police told her the incident did “not fulfil criteria” for further investigation.
Equine chiropractor Jazz Diggens was hacking out on 11 May, behind her mother riding Jazz’s showjumping mare Hilda, when the car approached from behind.
“The car overtook me, then Hilda looked at some road signs,” Jazz told H&H.
“She didn’t jump across the road or do anything silly, but the car clipped her whole back end and she fell on the road.
“She leapt up on to the verge and started throwing herself around a bit; I don’t think she knew what had hit her.”
As the riders were checking Hilda, who had suffered cuts to her hock, the driver responsible left the scene. Another driver, who had offered to act as a witness, followed the car to get the numberplate, which was reported to police.
Days later, Jazz was told no action would be taken.
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“Hilda was lame for 48 hours and we had the vet; we were lucky it wasn’t more serious but that’s not the point,” she said.
“She could have broken the leg — it’s still swollen and it’s almost looking like it’s capped — and she’s been out of proper work since. Luckily Mum wasn’t injured either but she hasn’t hacked out since.”
Jazz said the riders were wearing high-vis gear, and the road was a country lane, but wide enough for two cars to get past, although it narrowed slightly at the point Hilda was hit.
“They’d already passed me so they couldn’t say they didn’t see us, it was pure ignorance,” she said. “It just goes to show; Mum could have been seriously injured, or Hilda broken her leg and had to be put to sleep, and there’s no payback, no one would have done anything about it.
“If someone had hit a pedestrian and failed to stop, that would be a crime in itself; that’s a hit and run, but the police were so uninterested, it was silly.”
A spokesman for Hampshire constabulary told H&H: “An initial decision was made regarding a road traffic incident on Silchester Road in Tadley on May 11 based on the information and description of the incident given to us about a non-injury driving offence. This decision was based on force guidelines for such reports and the evidence provided to us.
“Under our current policy, Hampshire Constabulary will not be investigating incidents of this nature unless there is a significant ongoing threat to public safety, or if the vehicle is a known repeat offender for traffic offences.
“In these cases the vehicle details are recorded and will be used for future intelligence purposes.”
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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.
