A Nottinghamshire equestrian is fighting for a bridle path on Gedling Country Park due to busy main roads and what they describe as careless drivers near their stables. Dawn Turner, of Lambley Lane, Gedling, has started a petition in her efforts to have a bridleway created.
Dawn wants a safe place for riding to be created due to several near misses in recent months since a new access road was opened. Her equestrian site and neighbouring stables are close to Gedling Country Park, which did have plans to introduce a bridlepath in 2011 around the outskirts of the park. The plans were then altered to have the route as a pedestrian and cyclist path instead.
No horses are allowed on the country park, and Dawn feels like horses are being "pushed out" of the village. She said: "We feel like we are discriminated against now.
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"We've just got nowhere at all, everything just leads to another major road, we can get to the river but we still have to pass that major road. All we are asking for is a nice safe route.
"Everyone is feeling if they should move but we shouldn't have to move out of the village. I've always had horses in Gedling since I was tiny."
Dawn explained that they don't want to be on the country park's main footpaths, and said even a undeveloped clay path would be fine. "We don't understand why we can't have horses up there," she said.
Gedling is well known for the Gedling Colliery which closed in the early 1990s. For a number of decades the mining pit had pit ponies, which were horses kept in the mines for all but two weeks each year.
Dawn feels that horses are an important part of Gedling, and has so far collected more than 430 signatures on the paper petition, as well as more than 1,300 more online. She would like to see a bridle path introduced where the 2011 plans initially proposed one, on the outskirts of the park, which they would be able to easily access.
Due to the limited number of places they can ride nearby, Dawn and fellow equestrians are often forced to ride on main roads to get to where they want to go. However, they have experienced many negative experiences with cars being driven too fast and too close to their horses, and witnesses several near misses.
Pat Brewster leases the stables next door to Dawn and said: "I don't tend to go out because the traffic comes by so fast. I don't know what people's problem is, they are just so busy trying to get from A to B.
"When the road was closed it was heaven." Pat went on to say "my little friend here has done so much work, it's all credit to Dawn."
Lambley Lane was recently closed for several weeks so that the Gedling Access Road could be created.
"We get shouted at no end. 60% of drivers are nice to you, but 40% aren't, it's just ridiculous .I feel that since the new law came in cars have a (she shrugs) attitude" added Dawn.
Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment said the council’s countryside access team with assistance from Via are currently working towards a phase two of our joint campaign with the British Horse Society to promote drivers slowing down around horse riders. This is a county-wide campaign.
“I have asked officers to take a look at the location in question and we can look to get some signage up," he said. "I would of course urge all motorists to be considerate and provide the correct space and drive slowly when passing horse riders wherever they are driving.”
Dawn feels that Gedling Country Park is "supposed to be a green space for all" and that horses and equestrians are being excluded. She explained that some residents in the area were concerned about the horses impact on wildlife.
Dawn said: "Horses are not going to upset your wildlife. They had it down to health and safety because are out of control but in this day and age a lot of dogs are out of control and cyclists, some just swerve in front of people with no care.
"I'm just fighting and fighting because we don't know what to do. I just feel so passionate for it now because the kids are so scared to go out."
She explained that people "used to say its nice to see you with you horses" and that it would be nice for the community to have horses allowed at parts of the park. Due to the blind bends and lack of streetlight on Lambley Lane, Dawn wants to have safe bridle paths created to keep riders and horses away from the worst sections of road and says at the moment "we're just helpless."
Deputy Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor Michael Payne, said: "We've responded to concerns expressed by the team at the Equestrian Centre and arranged a meeting with them to discuss how we can support them and their need for potential bridle path access to Gedling Country Park.
"We are always looking at ways to improve this popular destination country park and, where possible, we will accommodate nearby residents’ needs, so long as they're achievable and do not affect the safety of other park users. We're looking forward to a constructive discussion with the Equestrian Centre team and working with them in any way we can."
If you would like to sign Dawn's petition you can do so here.
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