Exeter CWA member's concerns drive government horse awareness campaign

The Exeter CWA branch initiated the statewide campaign which advises motorists to be cautious of horses and riders on roads.

"Every rider I have spoken to, there have been near misses and dangerous stories. There could have been accidents," said Exeter CWA's Vice President and agriculture and environment officer Rebecca Hogan.

According to the campaign release, there were nine casualty crashes that involved horses and riders, and 54 with riderless crashes where vehicles struck horses between 2011 and 2020.

Read also: Bowral Family Carols cancelled due to restrictions

Of the riderless incidents, two people died and 15 were injured,.

"It is half a tonne weight at a windscreen wiper level," Mrs Hogan said.

"It is catastrophic for a rider, for the horse and occupants as well.

The policy was moved by members of the Exeter Branch of CWA and went through a vigorous voting process before it was adopted by the CWA of NSW.

The CWA of NSW lobbied for it to be made into an awareness campaign.

Read also: See the storms people have captured in the Southern Highlands and Southern Tablelands | Photos

"To see a government campaign resulting from the notion is exciting, and shows the value and power of CWA members at a local community working at a local level," Mrs Hogan said.

The campaign was released on October 21, and has been advertised in local newspapers and on social media pages where horse riding interest is common and on social media pages where cattle and livestock matters are common.

A government release also outlined that the campaign has been made into a Community Service Announcement for radio stations, an online release for Transport for NSW and content for "road safety partners and stakeholders".

Read also: This week's good news wrap-up from the Southern Highlands

Mrs Hogan said it was crucial for the message to reach everyone, with the goal to have the campaign also broadcast on television.

"We are all talking to each other and people who know, but the message is not getting out there in the wider community," she said.

"It is timely with the influx of people coming to the Southern Highlands, a lot of people are travelling to regional areas and coming out of city zones."

The initial Facebook post that announced the campaign has been shared about 1200 times, where people commented saying thank you for raising awareness about the issue.

The Vice President said there was a "lack of general understanding" when it came to the "unpredictable nature of horses".

"We want people to understand not just slowing down, revving the engine, tarp flapping," she said.

"It is incredibly frightening, you don't know how horses will react.

"What I am hoping is with the amount of efforts sharing on Facebook, it will put further pressure on the government to tighten the campaign to mainstream aspects."

Highlanders can learn more about road safety and horses here.

We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.

Did you know the Southern Highland News is now offering breaking news alerts and a daily email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up below.