Horse riders make bid for more access, safety
Recreational horse riders want to be “treated like cyclists” when it comes to where they can ride.
Councils should allow them better access to paths, trails and public land, they say, and they want a campaign teaching drivers to slow to 20kph when passing horses and riders.
Two advocacy groups from North and South Canterbury, representing about 500 recreational riders, have made combined submissions to local councils and the regional council, Environment Canterbury (ECan), requesting more of a say when to comes to transport decisions, safety and planning, and access to public land.
North Canterbury Equestrian Advocacy Group (NCEAG) chairperson Julia McLean said the group had received a positive response from the mayors, including an offer to take their case to the Canterbury Regional Transport Committee. She knows more than most what a lack of safe trails can mean.
In 2008, she spent six days in an induced coma after falling from a spooked horse onto the road. She was in a neck brace for six weeks, lost her smell and taste – and all her childhood memories, her education, and ultimately her career as a television journalist.
“Ideally” riders would not be on roads, despite being legally entitled to do so, but they were sometimes forced to by a lack of alternatives, she said.
One of the demands of the advocacy groups is a driver education awareness campaign, as well as increased consideration in NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) policy.
NZTAs road safety strategy does not mention horse riders at all, and the only reference a spokesperson provided was to advice in the Road Code that drivers should “be polite” when sharing the road with horses.
Concerns about horse droppings were overblown, McLean said.
“Horse poo is organic, whereas dog poo is not. By all means we would attempt to hop off and kick off the track, where possible, but there’s examples of shared paths around the country that work quite well.”
Access to recreational rides varied across the region, McLean said.
“Horse riding is not equal across Canterbury.
You’ve got Timaru, where riders say they have nowhere to ride and rely on the goodwill of community groups for permission, whereas in the Waimakariri we’ve got some really fabulous places to ride.”
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon, who recently met with the groups to discuss their submissions, said it was important there was space for the district’s big equestrian community “to undertake their passion and sport”.
Horse riders have long advocated for more safety awareness and more access to public land.
Last year, the Christchurch City Council installed horse gates on a Port Hills track, with riders hopeful they could eventually restore the Christchurch-Akaroa route, while determined lobbying late last year saw McLean and fellow North Canterbury trekkers gain access to Mt Grey for the first time.
The Heathcote Valley Riding School is fewer than 20 minutes from Christchurch’s city centre.
The school had been there for 40 years, and very rarely had issues with other community members, manager Emma Arrandale said.
“If everyone respects everyone, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.”
She said riding school patrons did not use designated bike paths, but did ride on public roads, which sometimes crossed shared paths. They made an effort to kick poo off paths and roads, and would remove any from footpaths in the event they were forced onto one, but when other riders didn’t the school still copped the blame, she said.
Arrandale agreed horse riders were often excluded when it came to consultation, planning and design of the recreational landscape.