PENKETH and Cuerdley Residents’ Association are to hold two awareness rides on Sunday September 19 in conjunction with the National Pass Wide and Slow Campaign to raise awareness for all vulnerable road users.
This will be the first time that Penketh has staged this kind of ride and it will be the start of many more to come.
There are 150 horses and ponies in Penketh and Cuerdley and yet not a single bridleway in the area which means that riders need to hack out on the roads.
The need to raise awareness has become apparent – especially as there have been two incidents of riders being thrown from their mounts due to impatient and improper behaviour of other road users in the past couple of months alone.
Local bus drivers have been a shining example of how to interact with equestrian road users. They always drop down to 10 to 15 mph and pass wide and slow or even wait patiently for the horse and rider to signal that they can overtake them.
The rides will consist of up to 10 horses/ponies, pedestrians, a dog walker, cyclists and perhaps a vehicle all following a set route in the hope of raising the much-needed awareness.
Most farms in the area are supporting the rides, together with local stores, Penketh Parish Council, the PCC John Dwyer, Warrington South MP Andy Carter and the Mayor of Warrington Cllr Maureen Creaghan.
A spokesperson for the residents association said: “All incidents concerning equestrian road users should really be reported to the British Horse Society and to the Police. Sadly, this is not always the case. An incident of verbal abuse, uncontrolled dogs, impatient drivers, passing at speed to name a few can easily be reported via the new British Horse Society app Horse-i. This goes towards a national database and can help with pinpointing locations that require further investigation or action by the Police.
