The council of the county that has recorded more recent horse road deaths than anywhere in the country is backing the British Horse Society’s (BHS) safety campaign following the “truly shocking” statistics.
BHS figures show that 203 road collisions involving horses were reported in the southwest in 2019-20 – with 104 of these in Devon. Of the 104, there was one rider and 33 horse fatalities. In 2018-2019 239 incidents were reported in the county.
During a Devon County Council virtual meeting on 3 December, the council noted the figures, and councillor Rob Hannaford, of Exwick and St Thomas, Exeter, put forward a motion calling for the support for the BHS Dead Slow campaign.
“This is a very important campaign for a rural county like Devon, and the new accident figures for our local area are truly shocking,” he told H&H.
“For me this is a local and strategic issue, as a big area around the Exwick part of my division in Exeter is rural so I have active farms, stables, and riders who have to interact with the urban areas, and often negotiate busy roads and arterial routes.”
Councillor Hannaford said reporting all incidents is vital in order to better understand the rate of equine-related incidents across the country.
“Collating data in this way can really make a big difference to equine safety, and it allows us to lobby and advise MPs, road safety partnerships, the police and other highway organisations,” he said.
“My motion was referred unanimously to the council’s cabinet and I am confident that it will receive all-party support when it comes back for ratification in February. I hope we can achieve a two-stranded approach, with an overarching information and education campaign for all road users across the county, working in tandem with local communities, riders and horse owners to identify specific sites that need extra measures such as better signage and awareness raising to achieve real behaviour change.”
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
