Horse safety awareness ride in Blidworth doubles up as tribute to the Queen

Organiser Sarah Howarth was sceptical about going ahead with the annual awareness ride on Sunday morning while many people were in mourning after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

However, it turned into “a roaring success”, with 20 riders patrolling the streets of the village as part of a nationwide Pass Wide And Slow campaign.

Mum Sarah, 37, of Rainworth, said: “It was a difficult decision to make whether to do the ride or not. But as the Queen was an avid horsewoman herself and had been an inspiration to many of us, we decided to carry on in her honour.

"All the riders wore black armbands and the horses had black ribbons in their tails. We also held a minute’s silence for the Queen before the ride set off.”

The aim of the ride was to educate motorists into taking more care when they follow or pass horses.

The number of accidents involving horse-riders on the roads has shot up by more than 80 per cent in recent years. In 2019/20, one person and 80 horses were killed.

Sarah herself has been involved in many near-misses when negotiating roads on her way to rides at places such as Harlow Wood, Blidworth Bottoms and Tippings Wood with her ten-year-old daughter, Phoenix.

She said: “A lot of drivers are unaware of how they should behave, and the dangers they create when overtaking.

"The idea behind the awareness ride is to appeal to them to be more considerate.”

Sunday’s event was supported by Coun Tom Smith, county councillor for Blidworth, where Sarah keeps her horse, Bella, and Rainworth.

"He commended us for raising awareness and also for honouring the Queen at such a sad time,” Sarah went on.

"All the drivers we met were fantastic. The majority slowed right down for us and gave way accordingly, and most people seemed to enjoy seeing us all out with the horses.”

The Pass Wide And Slow group has released a video, outlining horrific examples of accidents involving horses and teaching drivers how to overtake safely.

Hot tips for drivers include watching for hand-signals from riders and remembering that horses can be spooked by loud noises.