HORSE riders at a Clanfield livery yard are spending less time in the saddle because speeding motorists are pushing them off the road.
People connected with Highbank Livery Yard have begged highways chiefs to either reduce the speed limit or install more warning signs on Petersfield Lane.
Matters came to a head on August 15 when an aggressive and speeding motorist was reported to the police after ramming the back of a horse ridden by a 13-year-old girl.
The distressing incident was not a one-off as yard manager, Tahlia Tilley, claims the volume and speed of traffic along the lane is getting “worse and worse”.
She said: “People who have been here for 13 years who used to ride five or six times a week have cut down because it’s just too worrying and there’s been lots of near misses, especially on the corner by Hogs Lane.
“Horses get spooked by cars coming around the corner so quickly.”
“It used to be that anyone heading to the A3 would go along Chalton Lane but now they’ve limited the speed they come down this road instead,” said Alan Cross, who has been using the yard for 13 years.
“The morning rush hour has turned it into a rat run and it’s getting threatening not just for horses, but for cyclists and walkers, too.”
Susan Greenaway said one rider had two near misses in a week with the short distance between the yard and Hogs Lane becoming increasingly dangerous.
She said: “I’m riding at six in the morning now to avoid it because they hoon it along here.
“We appealed for a ‘warning, horses’ sign to be put up because there’s one by the Hogs Lodge but we need one on Petersfield Lane.
“But the answer we got back is there hasn’t been an accident so that’s how bad it needs to get for them to do something.”