‘He’s taken their freedom and joy away’: jail for disqualified, uninsured driver who killed pony on the road

The owner of a “pony in a million”, who was fatally injured by a driver who was banned from the roads, has welcomed his jail sentence – although nothing will take away what he has done.

Christopher Rogers, of Bolventor, Cornwall, was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on 18 March, reduced from 26 weeks owing to his guilty plea. He had admitted driving without due care, without insurance and while disqualified, at the same court last month.

The court heard, as H&H reported at the time, that Rogers, 61, was banned from driving when he hit the pony, on a narrow road near Launceston, on Sunday, 12 January. He left 18-year-old Ora with a catastrophic leg injury and her eight-year-old rider on the ground, then left the scene.

Polly Smith told H&H it was her 13-year-old daughter who was leading her beloved pony, who has been part of the family for 11 years, with a friend’s daughter in the saddle.

“I have to get into bed with my daughter most nights and the eight-year-old is petrified,” she said. “We’re trying to build them both back up, but he’s taken that fear-free child freedom and joy away from them.”

Polly was in the field by the road when Rogers’ van hit Ora.

“My daughter was screaming, ‘Mum, her leg,’” she said. “It was dangling, hanging by threads – and I saw [Rogers] driving off.

“It was horrific. We had to stand there for about an hour and a quarter before the vet got there, and Ora was so good. My elder daughter was holding her and singing to her, and she just stood there.”

Polly said that Ora went down when she was hit by the van and the young rider came off, then as Ora tried to scramble up, she stood on the girl’s leg. The rider was taken to hospital, but her injuries were not as serious as was first thought.

“The sight of [Ora’s] leg will never leave them,” Polly said. “It can’t be undone; none of his punishments will ever make it right. But at least he’s away. I think last night was the first my daughter has had a good night’s sleep since. It’s given them a bit of peace, knowing he’s not around.”

Polly paid tribute to Ora, who taught all three of her daughters to ride.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “It’s so sad, looking into the field and not seeing her. Our other pony had never been without her and was really lonely; a kind neighbour lent some sheep to keep him company. She was just a lovely pony. A little chestnut mare, a rascal, but not a bad bone in her body; she was one in a million. No horse is perfect – but she was perfect for us. She was still jumping and hacking out, and he’s taken all that away.

“The one thing is, I’ve noticed that since it happened, people have slowed down. Everybody has horses around here and people are taking more care, so that is one good thing to come out of it.

“I just don’t understand why he did it, why risk it, when he was banned. It could have been so much worse – in my mind, Ora saved the girls’ lives by losing hers.”

Rogers’ solicitor said his client was temporarily blinded as he had a sneezing fit. He said it was an error of judgement and there was no suggestion that it was a vindictive act.

He repeated what he had said in court last month, that all involved were very saddened by such a case, and that Rogers, a horse-lover who suffers with diabetes, “very much regrets what happened”.

“The defendant, although he’s pleaded guilty to poor driving, understands the tragedy, the loss of this lovely animal that has been with the family for all the life of these young girls,” he said in February.

Passing sentence, the chairman of the bench said the magistrates considered the offence at the “highest end of the scale”, and “of the highest culpability”, owing to his failure to stop and investigate how serious the accident had been, although he paused “for 20 to 30 seconds”.

“And indeed the vehicle was concealed after the event,” he said.

He added that the effect on the children and Ora was taken into account, as were aggravating factors.

“We had to consider the prejudicial comments made to probation… about horse owners, which leads us to believe that the remorse expressed by you for this case was questionably genuine,” he said.

As well as the prison sentence, Rogers was banned from driving again, effectively for 22 months and one week from 13 March, taking into account the previous ban and his prison time. He was ordered to pay costs and a surcharge.

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