The role What3words can play has been emphasised after two injured riders were located thanks to the app.
Dot Cuy and Rachel Moyes were both riding alone when they fell, on 30 April and 27 June respectively.
Dot’s part-Shire Cookie was spooked at a road crossing in Ruislip Woods, near London, and reared, coming down on the road. Runner Nigel Ealand saw what happened, and called an ambulance.
“I ended up speaking with a woman in Aberdeen, who had no knowledge of the area,” Nigel said. “Describing my location on Ducks Hill road near the car park entrance was far too vague, which is when a lightbulb went off; I had downloaded What3words for emergencies.
“I gave her my What3words address and the ambulance arrived within minutes.”
Dot was taken to hospital, where it was found she had torn ligaments, dislocated a toe, and fractured her foot.
“All in all, I came out of it well, as I could have died,” she said, adding that Cookie was unhurt.
Dot is now recommending the app to as many people as possible.
“I downloaded it in hospital,” she said. “I’d heard about it and thought it was a good idea, but since the accident I completely understand the importance of having it. I’ve also shared it on Facebook so I like to think I’ve done my bit in raising awareness of how important it is.”
In the What3words app, the world is divided into 3x3m squares, each of which has a unique three-word combination. Emergency services are among those that recommend its use.
Rachel fell from a friend’s horse, Ben, whom she was riding in an arena with no one else there.
“I landed on my back, and hit a rock,” she said. “I couldn’t move, I was stuck and in excruciating pain.
“I rang the ambulance, but the phone handler wasn’t from the area. I found the name of the road on Google Maps, but even that didn’t narrow down her search enough. Just as I was giving up, she asked me if I had the What3words app.
“I gave the call handler the What3words address and she said, ‘I know exactly where you are, the ambulance will be with you soon.’ Help arrived 20 minutes later, and I was taken to hospital. I was so relieved that they found me quickly, I don’t want to think how much worse the pain would have been if I had to wait any longer.”
Rachel is recovering from her spinal fractures, and has been encouraging others to download the app.
“I was so relieved I had it; you never think that stuff like this can happen but it’s really important to have the app just in case, especially if you like to go out on adventures on your own,” she said.
The British Horse Society told H&H it recommends riders download the app, for use in breakdowns as well as riding incidents.
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