Horses still dying on Britain’s roads and other things the horse world is talking about

Road incidents

The British Horse Society (BHS) has released its incident statistics for 2024 – showing that 58 horses died on our roads last year. There were 3,118 incidents reported to the BHS over the 12 months, which also included 80 human and 97 equine injuries. This is a slight decrease in the number recorded in 2023 – but BHS head of safety Alan Hiscox said it is “just the tip of the iceberg” as only about 15% of incidents are reported. The stats were announced today (29 January), two years after revised Highway Code guidance on passing horses came into effect.

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From Pony Club to Badminton

Tributes have been paid to a “cheeky coloured cob” who went from Pony Club to Badminton, and won a young rider team gold medal, with Olivia Wilmot, who has been put down aged 31. Olivia said she was not overly keen on 15.1hh Patrius Filius at first – but they went to the top together. “It was a proper dream come true to [complete Badminton] on a horse who I’d been second at the Pony Club championships on,” she said. “The fact he went from Pony Club to completing my first Badminton is really something.”

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A baby on the way

Multiple medal-winning para dressage rider Natasha Baker and her husband Marc Jaconelli are expecting their second baby. The couple, who already have baby son Joshua, said their second child is due in late June. “We are so excited. It was part of the plan, and we feel so blessed and lucky that it happened so quickly,” Natasha told H&H. She added that she hopes to be back in the saddle for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles – for which she will be looking for another horse. “We’ll see what the future has to hold,” she said.

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