Remington, aged 13, is a retired standardbred race horse who likes adventure.
Friday morning in Vernon, Remington and her rider, Valerie Elizabeth, received an unwanted adventure.
Travelling toward Okanagan Lake on Bella Vista Road, near Davison Orchards, Elizabeth and Remington were on the left-side of the road along with another friend on horseback, when, said Elizabeth, a man in a vehicle “decided to peel out and make two U-turns in the middle of the road to yell at us.”
“He drove by us three times to be a jerk,” said Elizabeth, who said the incidents were captured by a vehicle who slowed down to take pictures. Elizabeth reported the incident and a clear picture of the vehicle’s licence plate to the RCMP.
“This is not the first time we’ve encountered dangerous drivers,” she said. “It’s very much appreciated that people understand how to share the road with us.”
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Elizabeth said she has no idea who the driver was.
She and her riding partner and the horses were on the left side of Bella Vista Road heading out from town because, “The road is far too narrow to ride on the right when drivers cut those corners.”
“I prefer to see the cars coming at us,” said Elizabeth.
On its website, the Horse Council of British Columbia has facts posted from the Motor Vehicle Act in regards to equestrian traffic:
RULES OF THE ROAD
Part 3, section 119, paragraph (1)
“traffic” includes pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, cycles and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using a highway to travel” ;
Part 3, section120, paragraph (1), sub-paragraph (c)
“a person riding an animal or driving an animal driven vehicle on a highway has the rights and is subject to the duties of the driver of a vehicle under this Part” ;
If you’re hand-walking your horse, the relevant provision of the Motor Vehicle Act is section 182, which provides direction to pedestrians. The walking of the horse is incidental.
Part 3, section182, paragraphs (1 & 2)
“Pedestrian walking along highway – 182 (1) If there is a sidewalk that is reasonably passable on either or both sides of a highway, a pedestrian must not walk on a roadway.
(2) If there is no sidewalk, a pedestrian walking along or on a highway must walk only on the extreme left side of the roadway or the shoulder of the highway, facing traffic approaching from the opposite direction.”
YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT…
Horses are large powerful animals that often weigh more than 1,000 pounds so a collision with one poses considerable risk to the motor vehicle and its occupants, as well as to the horse and rider.
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