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Video: Horse and rider struck by undertaking cyclist participating in triathlon

Incident happened during Windsor Triathlon today - organisers Human Race have launched investigation

A horse rider has posted video to Facebook of competitors on the cycling leg of today’s Windsor Triathlon passing her at speed, one of them striking her and the horse as he passed them on the inside, causing the animal to rear up and leaving the woman with a bruised ankle.

Organisers of the event in Berkshire, Human Race, have launched an investigation and have promised to ban any riders they identify in the footage from future events.

Shot on a helmet camera , the footage was originally posted this morning by Facebook user Jennifer Katherine, who wrote: “No warning to local residents, signs, etc ...

“Went out at 7:30am to our other farm down the road and came back on same road 9am. I have lived here all my life and never had a problem with cyclists – as with my horse, who is bombproof on the road.

“I am wearing a yellow hi-vis hat silk, coat, gloves and gilet. My horse is wearing a yellow hi-vis rug and breastplate. The cyclist smashes along the side of my horse, taking my stirrup in the handlebars and bruising up my ankle. My horse rears and bolts forward, taking off one of his back shoes. 

“Not a lot I can do I think but what should I do? I had no knowledge of the event and repeatedly had near misses where cyclists failed to slow down and put themselves, me, my horse and drivers at risk.

“No-one stopped to see if I or the horse was ok after this hit. I'm still in shock and feeling very sore along one side of my ankle,” she added.

The event was today’s Windsor Triathlon, organised by Human Race, who said in messages posted to social media: “We are currently investigating an incident at the Windsor Triathlon involving a group of cyclists and a horse rider.

“We are taking this very seriously. Riders will be identified and disqualified from this event, and banned from all future Human Race Events.

“All riders are briefed to follow the Highway Code, and we do not condone dangerous cycling of any kind. We offer our sincere apologies to the individual involved.”

Rule 215 of the Highway Code, among other things, instructs road users to “Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking,” and to “Always pass wide and slowly.”

The behaviour of the cyclists has been condemned by commenters on the original Facebook thread, many of them horse riders who have highlighted their own experiences of some people riding bicycles far too close to them.

Other cyclists too have been strongly critical of the riders with one urging Human Race on Twitter to also report the incident to the British Triathlon Federation (BTF), saying: “Those cyclists should not be racing as dangerous to all on the roads.”

Human Race replied: “BTF are on site with us, and have provided all of our race referees. They are aware of the situation and will also be taking action.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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69 comments

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eversonc | 5 years ago
1 like

Just stupid , plenty of room to pass by safely with great visbility down the road - 

As has been said , us cyclists endure enough seemingly lobotomized motorists to understand how cr4p this must have been for both horse and rider.

I use Tri bars , its no excuse - you should always  keep your eyes on where you are heading on a normal public road (not closed event) plus you have all levels of riders around you (pro to amateur) in these events , you dont know what others are going to do..

 

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Derk Davies | 5 years ago
0 likes

One word, respect. Thats al thats needed on or off the road and we'd all be happier.

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Joeinpoole | 5 years ago
0 likes

Interesting thoughts JRW. I'm not a horse rider but I was somewhat suprised that a helmet-cam was being used to record a clickety-clop amble down the road.

Frankly though, even if the situation was deliberately set-up, the cyclists most certainly behaved like idiots. Unbelieveably stupid.

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mikecassie | 5 years ago
2 likes

What a shambles by all the bike riders.  The other side of the road was clear so why not get as far over to the right as possible and not just skirt past while staying on the L/H side of the road.  That's what I'd do, you saw how the horse reacted, how the rider reacted and it could've ended badly.  

I've encountered a horse and rider once where the horse got a scare, I was closing in slowly unlike those triathletes.  I now warn well ahead as I realise how hard to control 750kgs of muscle can be to control.  

If they'd been riding a bike and a car over/undertook them like that they'd be crying all the way to the police and facebook.  I hope the offenders get charged with some ancient but still useful law to show we don't need a whole heap of new laws to control road users...  

Also I hope the next time they each had a shit, it felt like they were pushing a hedgehog out!  

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PRSboy replied to Joeinpoole | 5 years ago
6 likes

Joeinpoole wrote:

Interesting thoughts JRW. I'm not a horse rider but I was somewhat suprised that a helmet-cam was being used to record a clickety-clop amble down the road.

Frankly though, even if the situation was deliberately set-up, the cyclists most certainly behaved like idiots. Unbelieveably stupid.

Same reason presumably that an increasing number of cyclists have a helmet cam to record a hopefully mundane commute.

Do people really think a rider would deliberately take a beloved and valuable horse, endangering themselves and the horse, into the midst of a triathlon just to make a point?

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to PRSboy | 5 years ago
1 like

PRSboy wrote:

Joeinpoole wrote:

Interesting thoughts JRW. I'm not a horse rider but I was somewhat suprised that a helmet-cam was being used to record a clickety-clop amble down the road.

Frankly though, even if the situation was deliberately set-up, the cyclists most certainly behaved like idiots. Unbelieveably stupid.

Same reason presumably that an increasing number of cyclists have a helmet cam to record a hopefully mundane commute.

Do people really think a rider would deliberately take a beloved and valuable horse, endangering themselves and the horse, into the midst of a triathlon just to make a point?

In short yes. 

As mentioned, I have a lieftimes insight into the equestrian world would suggest this is exactly the sort of thing they would do. 

I'd even go so far as say the video provides some suggestions that this may have been the case. First of all, there are at least two opportunities to get off the road on the video if  it was a case thtat the horse rider had been caught out. 

The horserider was deliberately exercising her right to be on the road. Which is absolutely her right. The same right that says as a cyclist I could ride the Splatford Split down here. Chances of me doing so without incident are low, but its still my legal right to do so.

Secondly, if you didn't want to be there, which was I felt was being inferred... she hadn't been made aware, had ridden to her other farm in the morning and was riding back at 9.00am and was confronted by bikes... then she could have trotted on to get the job done as quickly as possible. its what I always did for the short stretch of busy road I used to ride my horse on back in the day. get it done quick, and if the horse spooks it tend to be a bolt, rather than a turn, rear or buck. 

However, as stated, it really doesn't matter what her motives were for being there, its the actions of the triathletes that made this bad. 

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TedBarnes replied to Jimmy Ray Will | 5 years ago
0 likes

Jimmy Ray Will wrote:

PRSboy wrote:

Joeinpoole wrote:

Interesting thoughts JRW. I'm not a horse rider but I was somewhat suprised that a helmet-cam was being used to record a clickety-clop amble down the road.

Frankly though, even if the situation was deliberately set-up, the cyclists most certainly behaved like idiots. Unbelieveably stupid.

Same reason presumably that an increasing number of cyclists have a helmet cam to record a hopefully mundane commute.

Do people really think a rider would deliberately take a beloved and valuable horse, endangering themselves and the horse, into the midst of a triathlon just to make a point?

In short yes. 

As mentioned, I have a lieftimes insight into the equestrian world would suggest this is exactly the sort of thing they would do. 

I'd even go so far as say the video provides some suggestions that this may have been the case. First of all, there are at least two opportunities to get off the road on the video if  it was a case thtat the horse rider had been caught out. 

The horserider was deliberately exercising her right to be on the road. Which is absolutely her right. The same right that says as a cyclist I could ride the Splatford Split down here. Chances of me doing so without incident are low, but its still my legal right to do so.

Secondly, if you didn't want to be there, which was I felt was being inferred... she hadn't been made aware, had ridden to her other farm in the morning and was riding back at 9.00am and was confronted by bikes... then she could have trotted on to get the job done as quickly as possible. its what I always did for the short stretch of busy road I used to ride my horse on back in the day. get it done quick, and if the horse spooks it tend to be a bolt, rather than a turn, rear or buck. 

However, as stated, it really doesn't matter what her motives were for being there, its the actions of the triathletes that made this bad. 

Despite your last para, you've spent the rest of the post effectively victim blaming. To be honest, I'm probably replying more to earlier comments which were more extreme than yours. 

Personally, some of the earlier cyclists in the clip seemed like they were too close, especially given relative speeds, vulnerability of a horse rider and the fact that the other lane was empty. However, horse and rider seemed to be fine with those passes. The final group is just beyond idiotic.

I find it bizarre that that on a cycling website of all places, some people are playing whataboutism and not simply calling it out as shit riding and dangerous use of the public road.

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to TedBarnes | 5 years ago
1 like

gw42 wrote:

Despite your last para, you've spent the rest of the post effectively victim blaming. To be honest, I'm probably replying more to earlier comments which were more extreme than yours. 

Personally, some of the earlier cyclists in the clip seemed like they were too close, especially given relative speeds, vulnerability of a horse rider and the fact that the other lane was empty. However, horse and rider seemed to be fine with those passes. The final group is just beyond idiotic.

I find it bizarre that that on a cycling website of all places, some people are playing whataboutism and not simply calling it out as shit riding and dangerous use of the public road.

Its an interesting paradigm hey? 

I am aware of the victim blaming and the hypocrisy of such, however I also see in this scenario reasons to believe that it was an absolute set up.

Why I feel that relevant is the media attention generated and now the police attention focused on cycling and events organised on the public highway. 

In road racing, things tend to be run with a very tight ship; races would be neautralised if a horse should get on the course etc. however I feel my current liberty is about to be taken away due to the stupidity of some idiots being successfully bated by an individual with an agenda. 

It's very frustrating. 

As already commented elsewhere, I am interested to see how far the police are willing to take this compared to similar recorded incidents by cyclists. 

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kil0ran replied to Joeinpoole | 5 years ago
3 likes

Joeinpoole wrote:

Interesting thoughts JRW. I'm not a horse rider but I was somewhat suprised that a helmet-cam was being used to record a clickety-clop amble down the road.

Frankly though, even if the situation was deliberately set-up, the cyclists most certainly behaved like idiots. Unbelieveably stupid.

Many riders around here running cams, and have hi-viz on themselves and horse. Some even run rear lights. Quite a few have those fun "Polite" vests with the blue and white checkers (local stables did a bulk buy). Having spoken to a few they have the same issues cyclists do with close passes and drivers acting like dicks. We even shared the observation that drivers will slow down more and give more space for a riderless horse than they do for a ridden one, or a cyclist. Generally they don't have much of an issue with road cyclists around here, its the off-roaders appearing suddenly out of nowhere in the depths of the forest that are particularly dangerous. Horses are prey animals and even the best trained will get spooked.

I fear this one could have an Alliston effect, cycling is the only sport allowing racing on open public roads and preventing it is exactly the sort of populist vote-winner this govt loves.

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kil0ran | 5 years ago
0 likes

Even if they're selfish wankers I can't believe that they'd put themselves at risk like that. They're extremely lucky to avoid serious injury, I've seen what hitting a horse at 40mph in a car does to the car, usually completely written off.

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Fatbloke | 5 years ago
1 like

This makes me ashamed to call myself a cyclist.

 

 

 

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BehindTheBikesheds replied to Fatbloke | 5 years ago
1 like

Fatbloke wrote:

This makes me ashamed to call myself a cyclist.

Why, it doesn't me, far worse actions by motorists and pedestrians that ended in adeath or serious injury, would you take that shame every-time when that happens within those groups, if not why not?

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PRSboy | 5 years ago
0 likes

Strava fly-by data probably worth a look, if the horserider can say what time this happened?

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NorthDevonCyclist | 5 years ago
0 likes

Is this the bike from the still? Very true. Different bike.

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HoarseMann replied to NorthDevonCyclist | 5 years ago
0 likes

tomdenley111 wrote:

Is this the bike from the still?

Nope. The seat tube is a different colour, no top tube bag and missing the tri-bars...

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watlina replied to NorthDevonCyclist | 5 years ago
0 likes

tomdenley111 wrote:

Is this the bike from the still?

Clearly it is not. The one has disc one does not and the one in the still does not have the large black section on the seat tube.

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Philip Whiteman | 5 years ago
3 likes

Human Race say that they will ban the identified miscreants from future participation at the events.  That is a fairly wishy washy response. Instead, they should be handing over details to the police to enable a prosecution or to the horse rider for private legal action. 

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Mungecrundle | 5 years ago
5 likes

Damn, but there are some stupid fuckers about!

I'm a cyclist, I am not responsible for the actions of those morons, it is not my place to apologise for them but for whatever it's worth to the horse rider or indeed any other interested road user who may happen across this discussion thread, I hope the posts above show that this is not considered acceptable behaviour by the vast, vast majority of people who happen to ride bicycles.

If this had been motorcycles going past cyclists in a similar fashion, we would be calling for the wrath of God to fall upon them.

M

 

 

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Another Martin H | 5 years ago
1 like

Would it be fair if, in the future, race organizers told participants, "We may set up a sting operation by having something unexpected- but perfectly normal- on the course. If you ride in an unsafe manner and react inappropriately by either endangering yourself or others, you will be disqualified and banned." This would hopefully incentivize riders to be on their best behavior in case anything they encounter is a trap.

Fair warning has been given, and so long as such obstacles are readily visible, could be anticipated and no malice has been intended, the riders should be able to safely deal with them. So, no putting a oil slick on a sharp corner.

And really, if it's not a closed course, the riders should expect to encounter almost anything- horses, slow non-participating riders, stalled cars, traffic, debris, the aforementioned wildlife, spectators dressed in devil costumes, etc.

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37monkey | 5 years ago
1 like

C'mon the lot of you - get off your high horse. That rider didn't plan that move, we see none of the build up to it you're all sat in kangaroo court presiding a judgement over something you weren't involved in. Dangerous? Yes. Avoidable? Who knows. Consequences? Realistically not much. That all said, the horse is bombproof, a different horse and it would be an entirely different story.

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Yorkshire wallet replied to 37monkey | 5 years ago
8 likes
37monkey wrote:

C'mon the lot of you - get off your high horse. That rider didn't plan that move, we see none of the build up to it you're all sat in kangaroo court presiding a judgement over something you weren't involved in. Dangerous? Yes. Avoidable? Who knows. Consequences? Realistically not much. That all said, the horse is bombproof, a different horse and it would be an entirely different story.

I'm hoping this is a comedy post.

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CXR94Di2 replied to 37monkey | 5 years ago
5 likes

37monkey wrote:

C'mon the lot of you - get off your high horse. That rider didn't plan that move, we see none of the build up to it you're all sat in kangaroo court presiding a judgement over something you weren't involved in. Dangerous? Yes. Avoidable? Who knows. Consequences? Realistically not much. That all said, the horse is bombproof, a different horse and it would be an entirely different story.

 

All normal people with an ounce of common sense and decency wouldn't be within 10 ft and more if you decide to carry any speed passed the animal.   

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surly_by_name replied to 37monkey | 5 years ago
1 like

37monkey wrote:

C'mon the lot of you - get off your high horse. That rider didn't plan that move, we see none of the build up to it you're all sat in kangaroo court presiding a judgement over something you weren't involved in. Dangerous? Yes. Avoidable? Who knows. Consequences? Realistically not much. That all said, the horse is bombproof, a different horse and it would be an entirely different story.

This. 

Undertaking a large quadruped at speed on a bike seems to me to be a stupid thing to do. difficult to imagine the thought process that went into doing so, maybe the cyclists swerved to avoid a cyclist in front who was slowing (because of the horse) and were unsighted and had nowhere else to go. The fact that there was sufficient room down the inside to pass (whether or not safely) suggests that the horse was more centrally positioned than it shoudl have been given the road was full of people on bikes see below.

Riding a horse down a road filled with triathletes is also a stupid idea. I don't care if you are not prohibited from doign so.  I have no idea of the total number of people who participated in the Windsor tri but if you go to Human Race's website there are 31 pages with the names of entrants.  Even if you were illiterate and lived in a cave without wifi and had somehow failed to get the warning about the event, that's an unmistakable number of people on bikes, certainly enough cyclists going past with sufficient frequency to make anyone think "maybe I should go a different way today". Unless I am mistaken, the equestrian wasn't carrying urgent medical supplies to save the life of a dying child. If I was cynical, I'd suggest this is the equine equivalent of trolling, guaranteed to get critical mainstream media coverage. (Which it has, because every English person loves a f*&king horse. It never ceases to amaze me that the same motorists will tiptoe around a horse, all the time tugging his forelock only to cut up a group of cyclists seconds later. Truly bizarre. Some kind of historical throwback to the days when the aristocracy came on horses.) Ride your horse somewhere else for the day.  I get the same crap at the start of most cross races or mountain bike races - "this is a public park, people might be walking their dogs". Really? Really? If you can't take them on a different walkies today, then f@c{ you and your dogs. It's one day, for f*c{'s sake.

There's a good little route through the local common which makes for a good workout on a cross bike. But I don't turn up there at 9.00am on a Saturday morning because that's when they do park run (every week) and (notwitstanding the replies below) I'm not a dick on a bike with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement. 

The decision to undertake the horse was pretty stupid. The decision to ride the horse on the same route as the triathlon was pretty stupid. Neither bit of stupidity justifies the other.

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brooksby replied to surly_by_name | 5 years ago
1 like

surly_by_name wrote:

The decision to undertake the horse was pretty stupid. The decision to ride the horse on the same route as the triathlon was pretty stupid. Neither bit of stupidity justifies the other.

Nothing indicates that the horse rider decided to just pull out in front of them, and the horse rider has claimed that they didn't in any case know that they were on the same route as the triathlon.  It looks like the cyclists were riding a bit faster than the equestrian, so I'd imagine they caught up with the horse and rider (and then undertook and close passed at speed like complete @rses).

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danhopgood replied to surly_by_name | 5 years ago
3 likes

 

................Riding a horse down a road filled with triathletes is also a stupid idea. I don't care if you are not prohibited from doign so.............. 

 

Using that argument is the same as motorised users saying "riding a bike down a road filled with cars going fast is a stupid idea.  I don't care if you're not prohibited from doing so...." 

That horse and rider had every right to ride down that road and be given due care as a vulnerable road users.

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to danhopgood | 5 years ago
1 like

danhopgood wrote:

 

................Riding a horse down a road filled with triathletes is also a stupid idea. I don't care if you are not prohibited from doign so.............. 

 

Using that argument is the same as motorised users saying "riding a bike down a road filled with cars going fast is a stupid idea.  I don't care if you're not prohibited from doing so...." 

That horse and rider had every right to ride down that road and be given due care as a vulnerable road users.

I agree with you, especially your second paragraph, but would you not agree that there are limits maybe? 

For instance, I can ride the A30 here, but I don't because it is dangerous. Its not the danger that makes me stay off the road though, not directly, its the fact that the ever present danger is shit to be around. 

Is this not the same here? She has every right to be there, but common sense would suggest she avoided it that morning. 

The fact that the woman feels the need to offer up a back story as to why she was there suggests that she can see her decision making is arguably questionable here. 

 

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BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
1 like

Noddy.Hat.Wankers.

typical behaviour by the 'modern' noddy hat attired cyclist who only just got into the sport in the last few years, very probably drive their cars in exactly the same manner they ride a bike, like selfish cunts.

This behaviour is replicated all over the place not just racing but sportives, grand fondo's, weekend chain-gangs, commuting, the lot.

Yes it is tarnishing all people who rides bikes with the same brush sadly.

And yet, this still pales into insignificance when compared to motorists actions and the harm that they do, yet this will be focussed on by the media as opposed to yet another tosspot avoiding jail for killing a human being with their metal box due to an incompetent/bent judge and a failed justuce system!

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FatBoyW | 5 years ago
0 likes

Unless it has changed over the years this is a BIG event, every farm and stables will have been written to. I mean we do that for our itsy bitsy road races and the Windsor tri is way bigger. Its been run for more than twenty years how did she not know, by ignoring all the signs deliberately.

 

I’m very sorry for the horse but the rider is performing provocative behaviour knowing she will get this type of action. Not condoning the dangeous riding by any party including the horse rider. No way she'd be able to not know the race was happening. Back when i competed in it there was one section that was closed road with cycling out and back on it, the rest was full of idiots in metal boxes

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stuartclennett replied to FatBoyW | 5 years ago
4 likes

FatBoyW wrote:

I’m very sorry for the horse but the rider is performing provocative behaviour knowing she will get this type of action. Not condoning the dangeous riding by any party including the horse rider. No way she'd be able to not know the race was happening. 

You've never ridden a horse if you're seriously suggesting that the rider took her horse into a dangerous situation deliberately to get provocative video footage?   Please explain what the rider did that was dangerous? 

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Jimmy Ray Will replied to FatBoyW | 5 years ago
1 like

FatBoyW wrote:

Unless it has changed over the years this is a BIG event, every farm and stables will have been written to. I mean we do that for our itsy bitsy road races and the Windsor tri is way bigger. Its been run for more than twenty years how did she not know, by ignoring all the signs deliberately.

I’m very sorry for the horse but the rider is performing provocative behaviour knowing she will get this type of action. Not condoning the dangeous riding by any party including the horse rider. No way she'd be able to not know the race was happening. Back when i competed in it there was one section that was closed road with cycling out and back on it, the rest was full of idiots in metal boxes

I believe your viewpoint is not without merit and worth exploration.

I would like to know, from the organisers, what efforts they did make to inform local land owners etc. of the event. How realistic would it be for the rider to really not know?

This is surely an area the organisers would be keen to address. As it stands, without evidence that contradicts the rider statement, it has to be taken at face value. 

However, why would the horserider enter / continue on that road as soon as any bikes appeared? I have ridden horses enough, and cycled around horses enough to know that the one thing that'll always spook a horse is a cyclist. as an adide, this is often for the same reason motorists are so inept around cyclists - during their respective training, they are not exposed to cyclists or cycling so simply don't know what they are or what to do. 

My gut feeling, from my personal experience is that the horserider was indeed there on purpose, either to make a point or to create a situation. Above there is a comment questioning why anyone could believe a horserider would put themselves in these situations deliberately. I believe they would, from 40+ years living in and around horsey folk.

I would also suggest that maybe the ramifications of the impact have been egged up. She talks of being injured from the impact, however in the video the cyclist does not appear to be knocked off balance at all. To me it doesn't quite add up and I can't help feeling this has been exagerrated for effect. 

To summarise, I believe that this person may not be quite as whiter than white as portrayed, that there is a possibility that she knowingly put herself in a situation where a situation could realistically take place. 

Which takes me to my final and key point. She may have potentially set these triathletes up here, but, and its a huge but, these triathletes more than fell for the trap... they jumped in gamely with both feet. They gave her exactly what she was potentially looking for and lots more.

You can question / blame the victim if you want (and to a level I do want to as I don't like to be treated like a mug), but the reality is that the problem is with triathletes. 

I don't think I've ever witnessed an act of greater and more willing stupidity by a cyclist on the road. Touch wood they are identified and made an example of. 

 

 

 

 

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