We have dedicated this page to BHS news and petitions that have been launched.

Just letting riders in the Trelawnyd area know that FCC will be working on Bridleway 14 at the county boundary, Marian Mill, Trelawnyd, from 25 May for about seven days.  Apologies for the disruption but it is hoped the way will be improved when work is complete. FCC is also improving signing on bridleways throughout the county at my request, so if you know of anywhere needing a bridleway sign where a route is unclear or a previous sign has been removed, please let me know on 07845 932101 or vera68@btinternet.com.  In some places, a bridleway comes out on to a dangerous road, perhaps at a bend.  It is also intended that motorists should be warned to expect horses at these sites by new signing.  Again, if you know of anywhere in need of such a warning, please let me know.  Cheers, Vera.

British Horse Society Welfare Challenge Ride July 2nd 2009

In July this year I will be travelling to Inner Mongolia to take part in the British Horse Society Riding Challenge. 
I will be riding for 7 hours a day for 5 consecutive days, covering up to 50km a day.  I will be camping for 6 nights in a two man tent, in isolated grasslands with limited medical facilities.  
So why am I doing this?
I am hoping to raise money for British Horse Society Welfare which trains and administers a network of over 120 volunteers who respond to welfare concerns and advise on horse care nationwide. It costs over £800 per month to run and they deal with over 200 phone calls a week as well as making field visits. Unfortunately due to the financial crisis that has gripped the UK the BHS has not only see an increase in calls but more worryingly an increase in the number of abandoned horses. 
They also run national campaigns to educate horse owners in issues such as Strangles and Ragwort. The BHS Welfare lobbies government on a number of welfare-related issues, promotes responsible breeding, works closely with other welfare organisations and monitors horses and ponies on the BHS’s Re-homing Scheme.
I have been a member of the British Horse Society since I was 6 years old when I first joined Pony Club, and feel that after 34 years of fun in both the Pony and Riding Club that it’s about time I gave something back.  I am paying for the trip myself so all the money I raise goes to the BHS.
Why Inner Mongolia?
Some of you might remember the programme ‘A Long Way Round’ which was about the actor, Ewan McGregor and his friend, Charley Boorman travelling on motor bikes from London to New York but not going west across the Atlantic but travelling east…the long way round.
During their epic journey they go through Mongolia and are approached by a lone horse man, and I thought while watching it I would like to be the person on the horse. And in truth I get inspired just looking at Ewan McGregor, hmmm I think the word is ‘inspiration’ for the feeling I get whenever I watch the Davidoff adverts!!! 
What is so challenging about the trek?
Well, you just need to take a look at the suggested packing list which contains items such as cycling shorts (?), Sudocreme and Vagisil….(I’m hoping and praying that the latter is a typing error and should read Lypsil), to realise that this is not just a jolly hack.
We have to travel for 18 hours before we’ve even reached base camp, ride for 7 hours a day for 5 days, riding in the heat and camping during the cold nights with basic washing and toilet facilities. Eating traditional Mongolian dishes (another memorable moment from the Long Way Round was Ewan and Charley eating the traditional Lamb’s testicule stew!!) Yummy?? I foresee an ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’ moment if I get handed a bowl of suspicious looking stew!!
Besides, I am now going to admit that me and camping just don’t go together; I fail horrendously at putting up the kids pop up tent.  I DON’T stay any where unless it’s ensuite so this is going to be more than just a challenge, it could be life changing!  Finally learning how to put up a tent!
However I think I might have solved the ‘tent assembly’ problem by following the famous motto ‘if at first you don’t succeed then try, try, try…… and find somebody who can’, and have enlisted the help of my very good friend Susan Goodfellow.   Lucky for me Susan is an outdoorsy sort of person who has extensive camping experience but only limited riding experience.  So she’ll put up the tent while I take care of the horses, simple!!  Now all I need to figure out is how to get round the ‘limited toilet facilities’!!  Inner Mongolian grassland is not, unfortunately, famous for its bushes!
So please, please sponsor me either by sending a cheque made payable to ‘The British Horse Society’ and return it to Wendy Minor, Challenge Administrator, The British Horse Society, Stoneleigh Deer Park, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 2XZ, or by going to www.justgiving.com/sarahobrien4.  
Thank you so much                                    Sarah O’Brien

       ***

BHS officer for Flintshire is Vera Darby, vera68@btinternet.com.  

Just calling in to let you know that I have written to the council on behalf of the BHS in response to members' problems with the following bridleways in Flintshire.  I am hopeful that Bridleway 44 in Ysceifiog will now be diverted as a bridleway rather than extinguished.  I have asked for new gate posts on Bridleways 42 and 43 where inadequate posts constitute an obstruction, clearer signage along Bridleway 57 where it joins B 27 and a repair of green lane 209 to restore it as a route for carriage drivers and horse riders.  If anyone is experiencing any other problems please phone or email me.  Vera Darby, BHS CABO for Flintshire, vera68@btinternet.com. 07845 932101.          

Flintshire County Council is currently proposing to close Bridleway 44 in Ysceifiog.  This is another example of where a bridleway runs into a public footpath so the rider has to turn around and go back.  The proposal is to divert the path and make it only a footpath, thus extinguishing its use as a bridleway.  I am making an alternative proposal that the whole diverted path should be upgraded to a bridleway thus providing a useful link between small lanes for horse riders.  I should be most grateful if ECRC members could give their views on this and would particularly appreciate the views of local riders.  Many thanks, Vera Darby.           20/1/09

Helen Connolly is our local BHS Access & Bridleways Officer for Cheshire and she can be contacted by email on nagonthenet@btinternet.com .

Date: 4/8/08      Click here to sign the petition Around 100,000 horses suffer every year.  By signing the Make A Noise petition you are asking the European Commission to stop this cruelty by:
* Introducing short journey limits for horses travelling to slaughter in Europe
* Ensuring that rigorous enforcement of the current Regulation will be implemented in all EU member States as a matter of urgency 

Date: 14 April 2008                                                                                     Release: Immediate BHS delighted at decision against immediate return of Amersham horses  The British Horse Society has expressed its delight at the legal decision to put a stay in place until a High Court appeal is heard, which prevents the return of any of the horses rescued from Spindles Farm, Amersham.   An initial hearing took place on 4 April, when it was ruled by Deputy District Judge Sandeep Kainth at Oxford Magistrates Court that 11 donkeys and 18 Shetland ponies should be returned to Jamie Gray from whom the animals were seized in January.  While Deputy Judge Kainth did not have the power to reverse his original decision, the stay means the horses, ponies and donkeys will be able to remain in the care of the charities that rescued them until an appeal by the RSPCA against his original ruling is heard in the High Court. BHS Welfare Senior Executive Lee Hackett said: "This is fantastic news. We are delighted that Deputy Judge Kainth has done everything in his power to ensure that the animals involved remain in the best possible hands for the foreseeable future.   "It is an enormous relief that the animals will be able to remain in the care of the numerous charities who have worked so hard to rehabilitate them until the RSPCA appeal is heard. We are fully behind the RSPCA in their appeal and offer our unconditional backing and support." The January rescue of more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys from the premises of Jamie Gray was one of the largest equine welfare operations ever to have take place in the United Kingdom. It saw many different horse welfare organisations working together to seize and subsequently rehabilitate the animals involved. For further information, please contact: Lee Hackett, Senior Executive Welfare, The British Horse Society, 01926 707804 or l.hackett@bhs.org.uk 

Following an RTA near Barthomley in Cheshire,  in which a horse suffered fatal injuries, the British Horse Society are urgently seeking a committed volunteer to take up the post of Riding and Road Safety Officer. For the present the volunteer officer for Lancashire has kindly stepped in. If you are interested in this volunteer post please contact: Karen Lewty, Development Officer, British Horse Society North West, K.Lewty@bhs.org.uk or 0161 980 7483.   I don't have many details of the RTA but it was in the same road as the entrance to Cheshire Farm Ride. The rider, 19,  was unseated but unhurt. She kept her horse at Smith's Green Farm livery which is in the same road.             Helen

STOP THE MARCH OF THE TURBINES
Horses and Wind Turbines don't mix! In Cheshire there is a proliferation of planning applications at various stages for Wind Turbines Sites. If anyone is affected by this please get in touch with me. Please view website www.stopbickertonwindturbines.co.uk    Helen Connolly.

Below is a link to a Downing Street petition:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop pushing for wind turbines against the wishes of the public."
 http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/windpower/sign
Please sign and spread the message.

The British Horse Society bites back at dog attacks.                                          The British Horse Society's Access and Safety departments have received a number of reports of poorly controlled dogs interacting negatively with horses, and would like to gather more information regarding the scale of this problem. Director of Access Safety and Welfare, Mark Weston, said: "We would encourage anyone who has suffered as the result of a dog attack to fill in the form on our website, so that we can gauge how widespread this problem is." The information gathered by the survey will form the basis of a guidance note and, if dog attacks are a large-scale issue, an awareness campaign. The form can be found at http://www.bhs.org.uk/Content/Sft-home.asp For more information, please contact: Hannah Brown, Executive, Access and Publications on 01926 707813, h.brown@bhs.org.uk

Hi All,  It had an effect when we signed the petition regarding the new Highway Code.  So please sign this, the more the merrier.
  BHS petition calls for bigger say for equestrians in access law-making  
UPDATE: Current number of signatures: 3,778
Deadline: 23 March 2008
The British Horse Society is calling on all equestrians to sign a petition asking Government to give them a say in all new access and rights of way legislation.
The BHS Access Department and its regional access and bridleway officers would like riders and other horse lovers to sign the petition  Equestrians are the most vulnerable of road users and need increased off-road access for their safety and the welfare of their horses. Horse riding and driving provides healthy outdoor exercise which the Government is keen to encourage. It is enjoyed by over 4 million people in the UK and is the second biggest land-based industry but  equestrians have not been included in recent access-creating legislation which would help make them safer and encourage healthy outdoor recreation.
Mark Weston, Director of Access, Safety and Welfare, said: "It is vital that we use all means available to impress on the Government that equestrians need more and safer access. E-petitions are one way of showing the demand, along with writing to our MPs."
The recent Downing St. e-petition calling for amendments to the equestrian sections of the Highway Code attracted just under 20,000 signatures, showing the amount of concern there was in the equestrian community.  
There are approximately 4.3 million riders in the UK. In order for the petition to be taken seriously, we really need to get the support of as many people as possible. Remember to spread the word to everyone you know. If you need help, or have any ideas for promoting the petition, please email us.