Petition Delivered on Horseback

Otaki Mail, Otaki 

Shelly Warwick, Otaki Community board member and co-chair of New Zealand Equestrian Advocacy network (NZEAN) recently joined NZEAN members on the streets of Fielding to deliver on horseback a petition to Parliament.

Rangatikei MP Ian McKelvie received their petition calling for recognition of the Equestrian recreational horse riding community, and for horse riders to be included and considered in all public design and construction of roads and pathways.

Shelly says the petition calls for more recognition of horse riders as vulnerable road users that deserve the same consideration as other vulnerable users.

Roadways, also called carriageways, were originally built by, and designed for, horses.

"Towns were spaced out by the distance a horse could go in a day. Most pathway connections were built by horses to connect communities by horse, but we have been forgotten. Our traditional tracks and trails are being given to other users all over the country."

"We can share", says Shelly, "and in the Kapiti Coast, due to a shared path strategy that includes Bridleways, we share many tracks on KCDC and GWRC land successfully with other users. We are asking for legislation change that will protect our access to recreational pathways and require we are included in on road safety strategies on a central and local government level. Just like other non motorised users like walkers and cyclists,we use the roads as connections, but were left out completely from the most recent NZTA Road to Zero strategy, a strategy that looks at how harm on the roads can be reduced."