Friends pay tribute to horse rider killed in Seend crash
A group of 10 riders, walkers and cyclists in fluorescent bright yellow and pink hi-viz clothing rode out on Saturday (September 16).
Organiser Sally Turnnidge said they want to make more drivers aware of the need to pass horses wide and slowly to highlight a national road safety campaign in memory of their friend.
They raised awareness of the national Pass Wide and Slow campaign by riding from the spot on the A365 at Seend where Miss Hunt, 55, fell from her horse and died on July 9.
The group of riders who mounted a road safety campaign on Saturday in memory of their friend Jayne Hunt to make more drivers aware of the need to pass horses wide and slow. Photo: Trevor Porter 70147-4 (Image: Trevor Porter)
Sally said: “It went really well. We had about 10 riders, plus walkers and a couple of cyclists, as well as support from the police and two local councillors from Seend and Melksham.
“The whole ride was about 4.5 miles, there and back, and the police put out a couple of signs warning drivers to pass wide and slow.
“In addition, we had a support van driven by one of the husbands, with a big sign on the back.
“The point of doing it was to get across the message that drivers should pass horse riders wide and slow.
“If we can do that, and can prevent one death or serious injury, then it would be fantastic.”
During the ride-out, one of the group, Ellie Milner, laid flowers next to the roadside cross marking the spot where Miss Hunt lost her life whilst riding home from a training clinic in Seend.
Ellie Milner lays flowers as fellow horse riders mount a road safety campaign in memory of Jayne Hunt. Photo: Trevor Porter 70147-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)
She was a founding member of the Evesham-based The Equine Podiatry Association in 2006 and was well-known in Wiltshire horseriding circles.
Miss Hunt, who was described as loving horses all her life, became a full-time equine podiatrist in 2006 after she was made redundant from Avon Rubber in Melksham.
Together with Dr Richard Vialls, she co-founded the Equine Podiatry Training company two years later.
The friends from a Melksham livery yard rode and walked along the A365 from the accident scene to the Bowerhill roundabout and back.
Mrs Turnnidge, 53, added: “It just takes one person who doesn’t think for someone to either have a serious injury or to lose their life.”
She is hoping that the highways authority, Wiltshire Council, will install more signs along the road to warn drivers that it is used by horse-riders.