Promising racehorse dies after ‘horrific’ collision with car as rider escapes with minor injuries in terrifying scenes
A RACEHORSE has died and its rider was left with minor injuries following a collision with a car .
The two-year-old filly was struck from behind by a grey Volkswagen Polo in Berkshire.
The horse suffered serious injuries and did not survive.
The horse’s rider escaped with small injuries but was badly shaken while the driver of the car was unhurt.
The horse belonged to a nearby stable called Berkshire Racing Centre in Lambourn, where Tom Ward is the trainer.
He said of the incident: “It was pretty horrific for everyone. It’s the last thing you want to happen.
“The horse involved was a nice, young two-year-old filly who was going forward and would have made into a lovely three-year-old.
“Obviously her rider was very lucky to get away with small injuries as it could have been a lot worse.”
He continued: “She was part of a string going down the road.
“Lambourn is a very small community and we’ve got lots of yards, so a horsey village and we’d expect people to be more aware of their surroundings but in this incident the person wasn’t.
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“The rider is OK but was shaken up and pretty bruised. She is off work at the moment but hopefully she will be back at some stage. Nothing seems to be broken. It was pretty messy.”
Ward also urged drivers to be more vigilant when passing horses, revealing the necessary precautions were taken.
He added: “We took all the right precautions. The rider had a high viz on, it was a bright morning and there was nothing obstructing her from being seen.
“We just want to bring attention to the road safety of horses and make sure people are aware they need to be careful when passing them.”
A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “We can confirm that a road traffic collision occurred at around 8.15am on Monday (30/9) involving a grey VW Polo and a horse.
“The driver of the Golf was not injured, but tragically, the horse sustained injuries which led to it being put down by a local vet.
“Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to call 101, quoting reference 43240469386.”