assaulted by farmer over bridleway

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mandycrosby77

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On Sunday my friend and i went out for a hack. We have ridden on the track concerned for over 30 years,18 months ago the land was sold and the new owner has stopped us riding down it.
We are applying for a definative right of way order to the local council,I decided i would attemp to ride it any way, as i approached the land the farmer came out and told me it was private land and a foothpath only! i told him we had ridden it for 30 yrs and i was determined to ride down it, he blocked my horse with his body,and when this failed he grabbed my reins,grabbed my leg and tried to pull me off!
The incident has been reported to the police who are attempting to charge him with common assault! i have a large bruise to my leg and my horse was very distressed!
Has any one any similar stories and any good ideas on how i can continue to ride the track awaiting a long decision from our local council. Many Thanks.
 
Ok it is wrong of the farmer, assualt is never the right way to attempt a problem

But if you knew you were not supposed to be there why did you go anyway?
 
sorry to hear what happened, very upsetting. I don't have a similar story but I think you did the right thing by going to the police as it was an certainly assault. Good luck, it is a shame some people have to be so horrible.
 
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Ok it is wrong of the farmer, assualt is never the right way to attempt a problem

But if you knew you were not supposed to be there why did you go anyway?

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Have to agree
 
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As the last land owner advised us as we have ridden it for over 20 years its classed as a common by way!

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yes but it isnt owned by them anymore, and until the council gets back to you, you have to keep to the rules the landowner sets you
 
In fairness, if it is his land, it is his decision. You should respect that – 30 years or not. He owns the land – you don’t.

He had no right to assault you but you were effectively trespassing so in actual fact, he has the right to report you to the police too.

Sorry to sound harsh but landowners are generally quite good to horseriders – if you have been stopped going down a path it is more than likely because no one has bothered to knock on his door with a farm warming present and ask permission.
 
Agree with Jess, you havent been granted acess and you knew he didnt want you riding down it.

Yes his reaction was totally out of order but just because you HAVE been doing something for 30 years doesnt mean you should continue doing it when the owner of the land has said you cant.
Not until you get official permision anyway.

I dont understand why you were determined to ride down it, you have already appealed through the council and may now have made the situation more difficult.

I do feel sorry for you and your horse, the farmer was totally out of order doing what he did, but why didnt you just turn around and leave instead of trying to go through him by the sounds of it?
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I'd get in touch with the BHS on exactly what your rights are during the time that your council are making up their minds - do you have a local bridleway group? You might get them organised to ride the track all together. If the council/BHS say you have the right to ride the track at the moment, I think I might get a solicitors letter sent to the farmer telling him that you (and others) intend to keep riding the track, and warning him of prosecution if he attempts to block/assault/intimidate you.
Good luck!
 
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As the last land owner advised us as we have ridden it for over 20 years its classed as a common by way!

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yes but it isnt owned by them anymore, and until the council gets back to you, you have to keep to the rules the landowner sets you

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No you don't if it's a marked bridleway.

There are few enough of them around, so well done on insiting on your rights.
 
We have a similar track - it is posted as a footpath but we ride on it and it has been ridden on for decades (it also keeps drivers and riders safe as it cuts out some blind bends)

When some new people moved into one of the houses it is access to they complained but we took it up wth the councl and they agreed we did have the rights to ride there as a common byway and so we continue to do so - if you STOP riding the route, it could then be re-classified, so personally I would continue to ride on it too - hope the council make their ruling soon (and BTW ours still says footpath!!!!!)
 
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I'd get in touch with the BHS on exactly what your rights are during the time that your council are making up their minds - do you have a local bridleway group? You might get them organised to ride the track all together. If the council/BHS say you have the right to ride the track at the moment, I think I might get a solicitors letter sent to the farmer telling him that you (and others) intend to keep riding the track, and warning him of prosecution if he attempts to block/assault/intimidate you.
Good luck!

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I suggest the BHS would be wary of supporting a mass trespass if it is not certain that there is a right to pass over this piece of land
 
You obviously dont understand the circumstances! i am not talking about a approachable person, thanks for your support,it seems you all have lots of bridleways, some times you have to fight for whats right too many people move to the country and try change routes that have been used for generations! I was determined as even the police agree its not a arrestable offence trespass its a civil matter!
 
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Agree - don't wind somebody up to a fight and then winge when they hit you, especially if your 'right' to be there is dubious

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I don't think there is any excuse for the farmer to have been physically abusive to this woman. If she wasn't causing any problems or damage and if the path had been used for years then maybe the farmer should check himself. It sounds to me like he was just being awkward for the sake of it. |I am glad I live in Scotland with its Access Code.
 
Yes but whatever the circumstances you have already put in an appeal so why couldnt you just wait for the result of that rather than try to ride down there anyway, you knew he wouldnt be happy and it seems like the situation has gotten a whole lot worse and I imagine the farmer will now try to fight hammer and tong to keep you and other horse riders off his land.
 
If the path has been used as a right of way by horse riders for 30 years you can apply to the council to have it made into an official right of way/bridleway...just because it has been used for this time does not give you automatic right to use it until it has been officially agreed.
I am sorry to hear about the incident because it must have been very scary but you have probably completely messed up any thoughts of using it again because the council will need to approach the land owner for agreement to make it into a right of way...he won't feel too obliging now, especially after he has been reported to the police.
One landowners agreement of use does not mean it is passed on to the next land owner...that is up to tem where private land is concerned. Sorry to sound harsh but it was a bit silly!
 
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You obviously dont understand the circumstances! i am not talking about a approachable person, thanks for your support,it seems you all have lots of bridleways, some times you have to fight for whats right too many people move to the country and try change routes that have been used for generations! I was determined as even the police agree its not a arrestable offence trespass its a civil matter!

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so if this person is not 'approachable' why on earth would you put yourself and your horse at risk by confronting them.
Don't get me wrong, if you have a right of access and that is confirmed by the local authorities I would drive halfway across the country to support you..but while this is in question it isn't worth the risk of injury..the next rider he has a confrontation with might be quite badly hurt.
 
I think unless it is classified as a bridelway, you cannot simply march over someones land because the pervious owner let you do so!
obviously assault is wrong but you sound like you were trying it on.
Why not just wait until the council gives you their answer?
 
Why is he not approachable?
So you are telling me that if you knocked on his door with a crate of beer from your yard and said welcome, nice to meet you and I hope we can live harmoniously as neighbours (which includes me riding on your land) he would have been unapproachable?

Hmmmm….I am thinking that this may be a case of people on high horses (scuse the pun!)
 
i agree pottamu
if this route NOT marked up as a public bridleway on the councils definivate footpath map. YOU HAVE NO LEGAL RIGHT TO USE, and landowner can order you off his land.
BUT however if you have being using for over 20 years with landowner pemission the council can approach landowner and ask for a legal agreed to be drawn up
Farmer should not have man handled you.... but i can defo see where he's coming from...
If you to get this route agreed with the council, you going to have to get farmer on your side and probably your confrontation wasn't the best route forward
Sorry probably not what you wanted to read......
But talk to you council footpath folk, BHS, local councillors etc... and see if you can get farmer to agreed to route(can't remember but there is a technical name for this type of route)
 
I may be wrong - but if a landowner allows horse riders access it is called a permissive bridleway - and as such permission can be withdrawn by the landowner at any time.
We had a permissive bridleway near to my new yard - it was closed just before I arrived on the yard as the landowner withdrew his permission as people kept leaving the gates open.
I do think that you may have just shot all your chances of getting the landowners consent now.
 
I would drop charges and take some wine round and see if you can come to some sort of agreement, poss paid although you may have shot yourself in the foot. spose its a good job the farmer didnt
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I am sorry to hear that the farmer assaulted you.

The fact that you have ridden this route for so many years means that you legally have a personal Right of Way over the land.

You should however, now get this track put on the Definitive Map. (The map held at your County Council which shows all public rights of way and their status. Please contact your local BHS access Officer (I will be only to pleased to provide you with their contact details if you tell me which County you are in) who will be only to pleased to assist you and they will provide you with evidence forms and a map of the track concerned so that you can get everyone who has ridden the track to complete a form (even if they have only ridden it a few times)!

Once completed the forms should be each photocopied 3 times and one complete set sent to the BHS Access Officer of your area, the other set sent by Recorded Delivery to the Definitive Map Officer at your County Hall together with your application to have it placed on the definitive map.

Your BHS Access officer may also research the route to see if their is any historic evidence which would indicate that it was a Bridleway previously (i.e before 1949 when all rights of ways where recorded but some incorrectly so as to status).

We have until 2026 to record all the lost routes on the definitive map. After that date they can no longer be claimed so it important that any routes used by horse riders but not recorded on the definitive map are claimed for future generations of horse riders.



If you require any further assistance contact me. peter.natt@btinternet.com BHS Bridleway Access Officer
 
I am a bit confused by this (does not take much!), but I thought horses were barred from footpaths? If what has been stated is correct, does that mean if we find an accessable footpath so long as we ride it for 20yrs without challenge we can claim it as a bridleway? Also how do you prove you have used a footpath for this length of time?
 
I'm sorry, but too many people think they have a 'right' to ride on private land. Even if the old farmer told you you could ride over it, the new farmer had already said you couldnt.

Sorry, this pi$$es me right off.
 
I think you were right to report to the police as there is no reason for assualt. However unfortunately it is his land and therefore his say. We have a similar issue with the riding yard next to us. Their land is right next to ours and our bridle paths and theirs converge and it is annoying to get to the end of the path and have to turn round because the land/yard owner is petty enough to refuse to let us use their bridle paths through the forest even though we are happy to share ours. I mentioned it to my YO and he agreed that yes it was annoying but it was the rules and if we got in trouble for trespassing is was entirely our fault and he wouldn't be able to back us up...so yes it's annoying but it's the law
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