Persistence pays off – how being a ‘terrier who refuses to let go’ is driving real change in equestrian road safety

The British Horse Society (BHS) launched its Dead Slow campaign for equestrian road safety almost 10 years ago, just after I started at Horse & Hound.

I have to admit that my initial thoughts were along the lines of “great thing to do – but how much is this going to achieve?” I wasn’t sure an equestrian organisation would be able to do much, change much, in this area. I was very wrong.

In my defence, I hadn’t met Alan Hiscox then, the BHS director of safety who has led the Dead Slow campaign for a decade. Alan describes himself as a terrier on this subject, grabbing on to it, refusing to let go, worrying away at it until something happens.

And it really has. The debate in Westminster Hall last week, at which 33 MPs from across the political spectrum stood up to explain exactly what needs to be done to keep horses and their people safe, was a great example. It wasn’t just the fact equestrian road safety was being discussed in parliament – a great achievement in itself – it was the tone of the debate.

As Alan said, there was a tangible atmosphere in the room, not only of interest but of support. MP after MP stood up to speak about constituents’ experiences, naming some of the horses whose lives have ended in tragedy on the roadside as the result of drivers’ behaviour. This has to change, was the message, and it seems to be hitting home.

The debate was secured by Newbury MP Lee Dillon, who has become a parliamentary figurehead for equestrian road safety, submitting an early day motion and a presentation bill on the subject, sparked by the death of young racehorse Knockalla in his constituency. He is a champion for equestrians – as is Alan Hiscox, and his team, without whom none of this would have happened.

Alan spends much of his time travelling to all parts of the country. In the last 10 years, he’s visited countless MPs and riders, hosted safety talks in freezing village halls and ridden up and down roads himself with a police team at the ready to pull in careless drivers. He visits motor shows every year, to speak to the general public about the issue, he addresses the top road safety conferences in Britain. He works with police, councils, road safety partnerships, driver training organisations, driving instructors – the list is endless and so much of it never gets talked about. But it’s making a difference.

When the Highway Code changes were first announced, equestrians weren’t included, but that changed pretty quickly once Alan got on the case. This debate wouldn’t have happened had Alan not gone out to visit Knockalla’s connections, then come up with the idea of the awareness ride from Newbury to Windsor along with Project EDWARD. He invited Mr Dillon to the start of that ride and the rest is history. And the day after the Westminster Hall discussion, equestrian road safety came up in the House of Commons and the speaker promised to consider it for a formal debate.

What these events also show is that speaking up and making yourself heard makes a difference. Alan’s continuous plea is for equestrians to report everything – including near-misses and road rage incidents – to the BHS, online or via the Horsei app. This provides the data authorities need to act, as it shows them there’s a problem, and had Knockalla’s rider not reported that incident, none of the subsequent events would have happened.

Just about every MP who spoke last week cited the fact their constituents had contacted them with their concerns and asked them to go to the debate. They mentioned names; Blaze, who died in Windsor, Angel, killed in Essex, Loki, who suffered catastrophic injuries in Yorkshire. MPs are there to represent us and if we don’t tell them there’s a problem, they won’t know.

Of course the key, as Alan said, is the “what next?” It feels like momentum is building and change could be coming, but we’ve all got to keep at it. Dig those terrier teeth in and we could be on to something here.

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