Culcheth horse riders launch appeal after enduring abuse on the roads

Rachel Walmsley, who lives in Orford, has been riding horses for the past eight years and has fallen in love with the hobby.

The 33-year-old relishes the 5am starts every day when she gets to go and see her horse, Dexter, who she has had since 2018.

“There’s not a Rachel without a Dexter, or a Dexter without a Rachel,” she said.

“I fell in love with him the first day he came over from Ireland, I absolutely adore him.

“You become one as a partnership, it’s a very unique bond, it’s one you can’t really live without. I would do absolutely anything for him.”

The group have noticed a decrease in road safety awareness from drivers (Image: Supplied)

Rachel often rides in Culcheth but has noticed a decrease in road safety awareness from drivers, leaving her and other riders feeling scared.

“We’ve had cars tailgate us and rev their engines to try and set the horses off,” she said.

“There’s been people shouting out of their window to try and spook my horse. Recently we had someone wind their window down to complain about our horses pooing on the roads and that it was disgusting, and we should be ashamed.

“We’re lucky that we’ve not had any fatalities, but it’s getting to a point that it’s becoming dangerous to go out. You just want to go out and have fun, everybody has a hobby, and this is ours.”

According to The British Horse Society, there were more than 3,000 road incidents involving horses in 2023.

In that 12-month period alone, three people died in the UK as a result of these road incidents, as well as 66 horses.

A shocking 85 per cent of these accidents occurred due to a vehicle passion too closely or quickly and could have been avoided.

“It makes me feel terrified,” said Rachel.

“If I didn’t trust my horse, I wouldn’t take him out, and I trust him that if he reacts, he’s doing it out of fear rather than being naughty.

“He doesn’t make me feel unsafe to be on him, it’s just the reaction of other drivers. It’s just about giving us a bit of space and time and understanding to back off for a minute.

“What is an extra 30 seconds on a car journey, it’s nothing, but it could cost somebody their life.”

The ride will take place in Culcheth on Sunday (Image: Supplied)

To help promote road safety, around 180 rides will take place across the UK on Sunday, September 15.

Rachel will be taking part in one of these rides in Culcheth, where riders will take to the roads to help raise awareness to the issue.

“Not all road users know how to pass horses even though it has been legally made that you have to pass 10 mile an hour wide and slow, it’s still very apparent especially in Culcheth,” she said.

“It’s to promote the safety and awareness and make sure people know how to pass and what our hand signals mean and why we do it.

“Please be respectful to riders and their horses to avoid tragedies from occurring.

“Vehicles and horses can co-exist on the roads, and a little care and observance can, and does, avoid tragedy.”