re: Road riding question

[Lynne Glazer <lynne@glazer.org>]

>> which sometimes is merely "all
I can tell you Officer, is that had the horse spooked in front of the
vehicle, there is no way under heaven they could've stopped in time (which
means they were not "under full control of the vehicle," as required by law)
and you and your buddies would've been doing a lot more ugly of a job than
taking a phone call right now."  The officer usually asks if I'd like to make
an official complaint, or if I'd prefer he just pay a visit to the offender
and explain a few things to him/her.  I have always opted just for the visit.



You must have done that in daylight, Trish.

Last night in Norco, a 24 year old man, riding a 4 year old horse 
along the unfenced bridle path (on 7th near Corona, for you locals), 
was sneak-attacked by a dog who rushed the fence of its front yard. 
The dog was wearing one of those large cone-shaped white medicine 
collars.  The horse leaped out into the road, where he was hit by a 
minivan and killed.  No streetlights, the lady never saw him coming. 
Low traffic road, a two lane secondary.  Norco doesn't have 
sidewalks, but trail right-of-ways on one side of every street, 
except one big business road that parallels the freeway.

The minivan was totalled (driver wasn't hurt), the rider is in the 
hospital (not critical), and a very promising horse is dead.

Outcry from locals ranges from demands that any horse out at night 
wear flourescent bands or rider vests (not for greys, surely) , 
banning dogs from front yards (fat chance), fences on every street 
(they're working on that anyway), etc.

Lynne
with a goodly share of maniac drivers in a horse town, but this time 
it wasn't them


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