Nearly had a head-on yesterday...scary!

[bex1984]

I was riding Murphy over canter poles yesterday, basically trying (and succeeding - woohoo!) to get left canter. He is pretty unbalanced at the moment on the left lead, and he motorbikes and goes pretty fast.

Came over the poles, got left lead, saw someone coming round the other side of the school so made sure we were well over to the right, on the track, so we would pass left-to-left with plenty of space. We were going fast, other horse was coming at us pretty fast. Went towards them expecting them to move off the track...she didn't

In the end I had to do an emergency pull-out to the left to avoid a head-on collision, and only just got out the way as the other horse's ears went flat back and her bum started to turn towards Murphy to kick out.

I have never come so close to a head on collision and was, and still am, fuming that the other rider didn't move over

and didn't even apologise afterwards! I had to stop at the other end of the school to calm down because it terrified me TBH.

Grrrr....I can't remember when I learnt to pass left-to-left, it must have been drummed into me years ago, and I still remembered it after 10 years of not riding.

Do riding schools still teach it?

You can tell me if I'm overreacting to this

just do not like my little Murphy being put in harms way

 

[kate32]

I dont think you are over reacting Its an unspoken rule anywhere Ive ever stabled you pass left to left I can understand a child perhaps not knowing but anyone else at ours I would have been fuming .

 

[zoeshiloh]

If this had happened to me, I would have felt exactly the same way... However, I was never taught left to left when I was learning at a riding school, and when I first got a horse and rode at a livery yard, I didn't know the 'rule' so I just got on with my own thing and muddled along. It wasn't untl I had a very nasty near miss (like you describe) and the other person screamed "left to left" at me, that I found out what the etiquette actually was! I apologised to her profusely, and made sure I followed the 'rule' in future, but I genuinely had never been told.

Would it be possible to post some "school rules" somewhere or ask the YO to do this? We did at our yard - just a few rules like always wear a hat, always clear away jumps/droppings, pass left to left, warm up/down on inside track etc.

 

[bex1984]

[ QUOTE ]
It wasn't untl I had a very nasty near miss (like you describe) and the other person screamed "left to left" at me,

[/ QUOTE ]

I seem to remember screaming something similar yesterday!!

I'm sure there are school rules up outside the school, and I've not had this problem ever before TBH...I wonder if yesterday was just a case of someone not paying full attention...who knows. It was bl**dy scary though.

 

[Annagain]

I was taught left to left at pony club, had always ridden in a 'ride' at the riding school so all following each other and never on on opposite reins!
I had a very interesting experience last year when I was warming up for a showjumping competition. The gap between the warm up fence and the school fence was only big enough for one horse to get through and as I was cantering up the long side (fence was at E) some woman came across the school (roughly B-E) and turned straight into my path at the gap between the fence and and jump. I was going too fast to stop so had to turn across the school. As I went to turn a circle my boy locked onto the fence from about 1/2 a stride away at an angle of 45 degrees and just popped over it. I was warming up for a 2'9" class (3ft was our max as he's not the most talented!), hadn't yet jumped as had only just started warming up , the fence was a spread and my horse is not the most reliable of jumpers (later found foot problems) so we were very lucky it didn't go horribly wrong. It was pure luck that on that particular day he was calm and responsive and jumped the best he ever did, not hitting a fence all day. Other days he would have slammed on the anchors and sent me flying. My friend watching my warm up was screaming at the other woman and she just ignored her! It was obvious what had happened and that it was all her fault but she didn't even give me an embarrassed look or smile, let alone an apology.

 

[katie_and_toto]

It tends to be the worst at shows in the warm up rings, no one seems to understand the passing left to left rule