A Pitlochry teenager was thrown from her horse after a speeding driver spooked the pair.
The incident happened as Madison Davis, 18, and her horse Holly were riding in the Moulin area of Pitlochry on Tuesday afternoon.
A blue Ford Fiesta raced along Craiglunie Road and frightened the mare, sending her and the rider to the ground.
Madison says she was lucky to escape uninjured but Holly sustained cuts and scrapes.
She told The Courier: “The car just came around the corner and totally cut right into us.
“Holly got a bit of a fright, stumbled and ended up sliding down onto her side.
“We had high-vis on because it can be a busy road.
“Sometimes when people come across horses they don’t really know what to do.
“Just give people the space and the time – you don’t know if it’s a young horse or one that’s coming back into work.
“It could’ve ended worse for the driver, myself or Holly.”
‘Shaken up and a bit sore’, says Pitlochry teen
Madison said the ordeal has left her “a bit shaken up and a bit sore.”
Holly the horse has several leg wounds, and a physiotherapist has been called to assess her for internal injuries.
The pair are taking some time to fully recover before getting back on the horse.
When Holly is ready to be saddled up again, Madison’s friend Alisha Murray will ride with them so they have company.
Both riders worry the horse will now be scared of cars having previously been fine with them.
The blue Ford has been reported to the police for causing an accident and failing to stop.
Car driver failed to stop after spooking horse
Alisha, 24, has previously raised awareness in Pitlochry for horses and vulnerable riders on the road via the Pass Wide and Slow campaign.
She says she has experienced many incidents where cars have driven too fast and close to horses.
She added: “We ask drivers to give us the space and the time we need to either get out of the way or pass us slowly.
“We do try our hardest to get out the way; we don’t particularly like being on the roads – we only use them to get somewhere else.
“It just annoys me that the car driver didn’t stop to check that they were ok when they were both lying in the road.”
She added the pair often take younger children out for horse rides on Craiglunie Road so the incident could have had a much worse outcome.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, 18 February, we received a report of a horse being allegedly spooked by a vehicle in the Golf Course Road area of Pitlochry.
“Enquires are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
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