SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE CASH FOR PATHS

Horse-riders in Central Scotland will benefit from £118,000 worth of funding to improve paths networks.

Scottish Native Woodlands on behalf of Jane Coull chairperson of Clackmannanshire Riders Access Group CRAG has secured £83,000 from the Scotish Executive's Community Environmental Regeneration Scheme (CERS) and (CRAG) has also been instrumental in Forest Enterprise (FE) gaining a further £34,000 from the same scheme.

Jane, owner of 117 acre Garmorn Dam Community Woodland was delighted to receive confirmation that her funding application which will create additional grass and whindust paths, interpretation panels and an orienteering course and - most importantly for horse riders - pay for the widening of a narrow bridge, has been successful.

These improvements to the woodland wre the outcome of a user survey and public meeting held in June and work should start later this year. The survey raised concerns about the poor paths surface in the nearby FE owned Gartmornhill Woodland so lobbying by BHS, a council access officer and CRAG resulted in this project also benefiting from CERS cash.
Through Jane's enthusiasm CRAG has also been helping itself fund raise by holding an innovative mounted treasure hunt which involved finding clues which in turn led to the discovery of a letter with twelve letters making a phrase - the event was so popular that Central Scotland Highland Pony Club re-visited the woodland the following day to try again!

CRAG is an affiliated BHS riders access group and Jane Coull was also a proud recipient of a BHS route creating award during access week earlier this year.

Chairman of BHS Scotland Access, Linda Howson said: "It is really great to see that the amount of hard work put into multi-use access by Jane is bearing fruit and it is gratifying that regeneratin cash is to be so well used. We ar every proud of the work of Jane and CRAG as so many people and horses benefit from schemes like these."

(SCOTLAND'S HORSE NEWS - November 2004)

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TRAGEDY HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR MORE OFF-ROAD RIDING

We have heard yet another tragic tale of a lovely pony being put down after a collision with a car. Mr Chuckles was taking his 11-year-old-rider, and soul mate out for a quiet ride along the lanes near their home when the accident happened. His young rider was physically unhurt, but will always remember the day that she lost her friend in such terrible circumstances. Thankfully, a vet was close at hand and Mr Chuckles did not suffer for too long.
Once again this highlights the need for more off-road riding to be available, but also for drivers to be aware of the need to take more care as they speed along country lanes. There is room for all on the roads provided care, courtesy, and consideration are shown by all user groups. But horses are not machines, and even the most staid of them can take fright on occasion without any warning. We ask every road user to expect the unexpected when they are out. Only recently Sheila Hardy, BHS HEad of Safety, was driving along a very windy country lane with extremely high hedges in Somerset. She commented: "As I was unfamiliar with the road I was taking extra care, but as I came around a very sharp bend there in front of me were two dressage horses out for a hack. They had pulled into the side of the road and I thought it was because they had heard me coming.

"I stopped and waited for a second whilst they settled to a stand still right against a wall. As I crept forward I could see the real reason they had stopped - a small pony was parked up on the other side of the road, again on a blind bend, complete with it's trap and two hi-viz clad passengers. Thankfully nothing came round the bend either behind me, or from the other direction, and with a little polite manoeuvring we all managed to go in the direction we had intended, but it was a very worrying moment even though we were all acting responsibly. How would it have been had we not?"

Our thoughts go out to young Sophie Barrett, who so tragically lost Mr Chuckles, and our support goes to those who are working so very hard to campaign for better off-road riding facilities.
Please continue to let us know of any accidents you hear of, or better still, get those involved to report them either on the Accident Report Form on the Safety website, or obtain a form from the Safety Department - the return postage on the form is already paid.

BRITISH HORSE (Safety) - November/December 2004

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