The owners of a mare killed on the roads have vowed to campaign in her memory to protect other horses – as a major new Government road safety strategy does not specifically mention equestrians.
Jamie and Charlotte Willis’s eight-year-old Blaze, whom they have owned since the day she was born, suffered fatal injuries when she was involved with a collision with a car in Windsor on 13 August. Her young rider, who had Blaze on loan, was taken to hospital but not seriously injured. The two other horses and riders with her were unhurt.
The Willises have since met British Horse Society (BHS) director of safety Alan Hiscox and Windsor MP Jack Rankin as they try to ensure something positive can come from Blaze’s death.
“It’s been horrendous,” Mrs Willis told H&H. “I feel, not better, but like I’m moving forward a bit for Blaze. Some justice; so she hasn’t just been killed and forgotten about. It’s going to be a long road but we’ll do what we can. Something’s got to be done.”
The Willises want to campaign for horses, and other animals, to be classed other than as property, or chattels, in law, which would have further-reaching implications in areas such as theft, and could mean tougher punishments for offenders.
“After the accident, a police officer said something about the driver suffering the consequences, but there aren’t really going to be any consequences,” Mrs Willis said.
“Nothing’s going to be good enough because her life has been taken, but this is a living animal, and it’s classed as damage to your property. To hear that when your horse is lying on the side of the road is horrendous.”
Charlotte told H&H Blaze’s birth was a surprise, the day before her own birthday in July 2017, as she had bought the mare’s dam, Blue, and the previous owners did not know she was in foal.
“She just looked like a bit of a fat cob that summer,” Charlotte said. “I went down there one morning, and there was this little chestnut foal next to her, and I thought ‘Oh, where did you come from?’! At that point, I had three boys, and I always wanted a little girl. And thought ‘This is clearly my little girl’. The day before my birthday, my favorite is a chestnut with socks and a blaze; she was just my dream.”
A few years later, Charlotte decided to put Blaze out on loan for a year as she felt the mare wanted to do something.
“I was going to have her back afterwards – but eight months in, this happened,” she said. “She was the perfect, perfect horse. I’d done everything slowly with her; let her grow and mature, backed her when she was six or seven, then turned her away for a little while, and then got her back into work and she went off on loan to do a bit of a job. She seemed to enjoy doing little bits and pieces, but obviously I didn’t have her long enough to enjoy her.
“She never got to a show, or to the beach; all these things I’d wanted to do and she never got to do any of it. “They’d been very much at home, in a quiet field, easy life – and it was cut short, which is awful.”
Charlotte said Blaze loved coming into the stable, where she would lie flat to sleep, snoring fit to burst.
“She was so funny, such a character,” she said. “She loved the children, always wanted to be the one having the attention all the time. So nice, and straightforward. She wasn’t just a horse, to me she was worth millions and millions.
Charlotte and Jamie hope that if their campaign succeeds, it will have wider benefits, such as affecting animal theft.
“We just want to make things safer for everyone,” Charlotte said. “And if Blaze can make that happen from losing her life, then amazing; it’s going to be a long road ahead but we’re going to fight.”
Particularly upsetting
Mr Hiscox told H&H the incident was particularly upsetting as it was so close to Windsor, where the BHS and Project EDWARD’s (Every Day Without A Road Death) awareness ride from Lambourn ended. It also occurred as news was emerging about the Government’s new national road safety strategy, to be published this autumn, which does not specifically mention horses.
“This incident just accentuates the fact that we need to push the Dead Slow message out, and get more buy-in from drivers, on that and the Highway Code changes, which are now three and a half years old,” Mr Hiscox said.
“The special relationship between horse and rider is something I’m trying to let the road safety world know about; it’s very special and both should be jointly dealt with as vulnerable road users. I’m pushing for equestrians to be included in the road safety strategy; it will mention vulnerable road users in general but I want the word ‘equestrians’ in there somewhere. I care so much about this.”
H&H reported in May that Newbury MP Lee Dillon had submitted an early day motion (EDM) calling for acknowledgement of horses’ role in society, concern over the number of road incidents involving them and greater awareness of changes to The Highway Code.
Mr Dillon told H&H: “The tragic incident in Windsor is yet another stark reminder of why we urgently need stronger protections for horses and riders on our roads. Living near Lambourn, the Valley of the Racehorse, I see first-hand just how vital it is that they are kept safe. That’s why I’m calling for changes to the Highway Code, for horse safety to be built into the driving test, and for greater awareness among motorists.
“Yet despite this clear need, horses are not even mentioned in the Government’s proposed new road safety strategy. That must change.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson told H&H the Government is committed to reducing the “numbers of those killed and injured on our roads”.
“We will aim to improve the safety of all road users through our road safety strategy, which is being developed and will be published in due course,” she said.
A spokesperson for Surrey Police told H&H two cars were involved in the Windsor collision; one has been served a notice of intended prosecution for dangerous driving, the other was arrested at the scene after failing a drugs swipe and has since been released under investigation. Enquiries are ongoing.
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