A rider who was injured when a car “rammed into” her horse said she has been put off hacking on the roads.
Vicky Badrock, 20 was thrown from her 16.1hh gelding Hugo on Sunday (30 September) when returning from a hack with a friend on Waterside, Marple, Greater Manchester.
Vicky told H&H: “We were just 10 minutes from home. My friend Alison was on her horse Woody behind me and the car bullied his way through a tiny gap past them but he couldn’t fit past Hugo because there was a parked car on the other side of the road.
“The car then rammed into the back of Hugo and hit his back legs. He reared up and I came off and landed on my back. Hugo kept rearing and smashed into the man’s car taking his wing mirror off and cutting his side. I still had hold of him and managed to calm him down but the man’s car was pretty smashed up.
“The man just had to wait 10 seconds until we were past the parked car and he could have overtaken and given us the space we needed but he literally just rammed into us.
“He drove a little up the road, got out of his car and started shouting abuse at us, saying ‘horses should be in a horsebox and you were going too slow’. He wouldn’t give me his insurance details and then drove off.
“A lady stopped driving behind stopped and helped and I think she was the one who called the police, I was just in shock and really upset trying to make sure Hugo was ok.”
Vicky led Hugo back to the yard and he was seen by a vet.
“He has a big swollen leg and his side is cut – it was bleeding quite badly. He’s on bute and will have couple of weeks off,” said Vicky. “I’ve hurt my back from landing on it. I was more concerned about Hugo at the time but I think I’m going to need to go to the doctor as it’s getting worse.
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“I’ve only had Hugo months and planned to do lots with him – I’m just lucky he came off as lightly as he did, if it had been any worse I would have been gutted. It’s put me off wanting to go out on the roads, I don’t know if I’ll ever go out again. It’s scary, I’ll never forget that noise [of the car hitting Hugo].”
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police told H&H: “Shortly before 12.20pm on Sunday 30 September, police received a report of a collision between a car and a horse on Waterside in Hawk Green. The rider of the horse was not injured but the horse is believed to have suffered a cut to the leg. The driver of a dark Jaguar car failed to stop at the scene.”
The police said enquiries are ongoing.
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