Petition to get horse riders on rail trail
A Te Aroha woman has launched a petition to ride her horse on the Hauraki Rail Trail saying ‘‘there’s nowhere left to ride’’.
Leanne Richardson has owned many horses throughout her life, but growing safety concerns for her and her horse have restricted her from riding on the roadside.
As a result she been limited to riding around the paddock, but with the new Hauraki Rail Trail due to open she’s looking towards greener pastures.
‘‘The idea of the petition came about because I’ve seen a lot of people hurt on the road when it comes to vehicles not slowing down when you’re on a horse,’’ Richardson said.
‘‘And pretty much all the grass verges we did use or have used, they’re all getting turned into cycle lanes or walkways.
‘‘It would be great to be able to use the Hauraki Rail Trail instead of riding around and around the paddock.’’
When Richardson did ride along the road, she said, she always followed the rules, by trying to stay as far left and signalling to vehicles if she was having trouble calming her horse, but drivers would never slow down.
‘‘It’s getting ridiculous because there’s the young hoons who purposely revved the cars or tooted as they go past thinking it’s funny and no-one ever slows down.
‘‘With my old horse Blackie, who was a lot more jumpy, he almost jumped into the tree because a car was going too fast.’’
However, some people she knows haven’t been as lucky.
‘‘A mate of mine has a head injury because his horse got startled and bolted when a car driving past drove too fast.’’
Richardson said so far the petition has received around 100 signatures with 90 per cent of them coming from non-horse riders.
When it gets more signatures she plans to give the petition to Matamata-Piako District Council and the Hauraki Rail Trail Trust.
She said she would be willing to work with Council to come up with a solution, whether that be paying an annual fee to use the trail or buying horse poo bags, so horse droppings don’t litter the track.
But Hauraki Rail Trail chief executive Diane Drummond said the Hauraki Rail Trail is not a bridal trail.
‘‘Cyclists and horses are not a good combination in a restricted space,’’ Drummond said in a statement.
‘‘There are no parts of the current trail that are shared spaces.’’
She said cattle and livestock are able to cross the trail using dedicated crossing points that have been negotiated with farmers.
‘‘It would be great to be able to use the Hauraki Rail Trail instead of riding around and around the paddock.’’
Leanne Richardson