Award and awareness rides: the fight to keep horses and riders safe on our roads

A campaign to improve horse and rider road safety has won a prestigious national award – as Pass Wide and Slow (PWAS) awareness rides have taken place across the country.

The British Horse Society’s (BHS) Dead Slow campaign was recognised at the Institute of Master Tutors of Driving (IMTD) awards, which “recognise outstanding contribution to driver training and road safety”. The title was awarded on 7 September, the weekend before the PWAS awareness rides were held across the country.

BHS director of safety Alan Hiscox has previously told H&H of the work he and his team have been doing with driving instructors to improve horse and rider safety.

“We’re so pleased to be recognised with an award, for a significant contribution to road safety,” he said. “The safety team has had very positive partnerships with driving instructors since we launched the campaign and it has been so important to involve them when it comes to increasing the safety of horses on the road.

“Regular communication is extremely important, and we are looking forward to working with even more organisations to drive greater awareness of equine road safety.”

The IMTD awards are “an opportunity to recognise outstanding contribution to driver training. This includes individuals and/or organisations that have played a significant role in promoting road safety in the field of driver education”. A BHS spokesperson told H&H a key part of the Dead Slow campaign is “considering how the BHS can reach young drivers to help them understand the dangers of passing horses too quickly and closely on our roads”.

“The BHS works alongside driver instructor associations to ensure the rules included in the Highway Code continue to be an integral part of people’s learning,” she said.

This year, more than 245 PWAS rides were held, across the UK but also in the US, Canada, Poland and New Zealand.

Laura Grant, one of the PWAS admin team, organised a ride in Carmarthenshire. Laura’s pony Katie suffered a fatal injury when a passing vehicle scared her and she went into a cattle grid, in 2023.

“We were still all over the place last September but this year, we organised a ride to remember Katie, and make things better for other horses,” Laura told H&H. “We were escorted by police all the way, which was very good, but in the end only had one carriage and two riders – because people are just too scared to ride on the roads.”

Laura’s ride had the support of councillors and Dame Nia Griffith MP, who went along for the ride in the carriage.

“That was her first carriage ride and she felt first-hand what it was like to have cars going past too fast and too close, and she said something has to be done,” Laura said. “But it was lovely to see smiley faces, and we were blessed to have sponsors; we had Evo Equine and Equi Hi Viz; other rides were sponsored by local businesses and big companies.

“This year the rides were international too; a woman in New Zealand saw our social media group and got on board there so there were over 245 in total.”

Members of the PWAS Facebook group also raised enough money to put the PWAS message on buses across the country this year, and are campaigning for the Highway Code to be made law, especially in relation to the guidance on passing horses.

“I just don’t want anyone else to have to go through the pain of losing their horse or being injured on the road. It’s devastating,” Laura said. “It means so much to me to be doing something positive out of something so awful, and keeping Katie’s memory alive.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout Horse of the Year Show, London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in: