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Rider's life changed in an instant

01 April 2009

Shoosmiths client Keith Rivers was out riding when his horse was hit from behind by a car.

The collision – which happened while riding with his friend Steve Haill, in November 2007 – has had a profound effect on Mr Rivers, whose life will never be quite the same again.

Here, he describes his feelings since the incident.

“Both of us always ride wearing fluorescent clothing – a tabard in summer, full jackets in winter – and are well aware of both the Highway Code and British Horse Society rules for safe road riding.

We always ride single file on the road and close to the verge, as was the case on the day of the collision.

There was nothing more we could have done to be safer that day.

It is very difficult to explain the impact the event has had. There were four friends – two horses, two men – who were just going about their business when their whole world was torn apart.

For the humans, we can rationalise what happened; we know the rarity of cars colliding with horses and somehow we can make some sort of mental adjustment. For horses, life is not so simple; they do not possess the same power of rational thought as humans do, so the impact can be profound and lifelong.

The fear and recollection of what happened on the 25th will never leave any of us; there will always be the ‘What could have happened?’ thought that will taint our riding forever.

Whether this manifests as a general nervousness on horseback, or just extra vigilance on roads with cars, or in the extreme, an unconquerable fear of hacking out on horseback, only time will tell.

One thing is certain; nothing after the 25 November 2007 will ever be the same again. Maybe the simple pleasures of man and horse together are now lost for a lifetime.

And all that was good prior to the 25th has now gone, and four friends have been shattered with no way of restoring their reality. The relationship that has been forged through experience in each others company (both horses and men) has been lost forever.

The future certainly holds more questions than answers.”

The following link is to a local newspaper story in which Mr Rivers appeals to motorists to be more aware of horse on the road: http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/chronicle/Appeal-drivers-car-ploughs-horse/article-761570-detail/article.html

Shoosmiths solicitor and personal injury specialist Gillian Jones is acting for Mr Rivers in respect to the incident.

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Gilly Jones

Solicitor
T: 08700 86 6612
I: +44 (0)1256 69 6612
E: gillian.jones@shoosmiths.co.uk