A campaign to educate motorists on how they can safely pass horses on the road will be holding an annual awareness ride near Narberth on September 19.

Pass Wide and Slow, whose Facebook group has attracted almost 23,000 members, lists 187 rides across the UK and Ireland on Sunday taking place on September 19.

The ride from Cold Blow through Narberth is being organised by local riders belonging to Landsker Riding and Trec club.

The rides will aim to spread the word about the importance of keeping a safe distance, ideally a minimum of two metres, while passing horses at no higher a speed than 15mph.

British Horse Society statistics show that 1,010 incidents involving horses and UK riders were reported to them from February 29, 2020 until February 28, 2021 – of those, 46 horses died and 118 were injured.

Local rider Jane Ashbridge said: “In our area, it’s not too bad, farmers and HGV drivers are usually very considerate, but there are a minority of drivers who don’t know what to do or how to pass equestrians, so they pass too closely and too fast.”

The ride will start at Cold Blow at 11am, riding through Narberth to raise awareness.

Debbie Smith, co-founder of the Pass Wide and Slow campaign, said: “I don’t want these rides or any other organisers’ awareness rides or drives to cause trouble.

“It is not a protest; we move out of the way and don't deliberately hold drivers up. We just smile, thank them and hope that they enjoy seeing a group of riders or carriage drivers out together.

“I just want to educate drivers on how, as riders, we keep ourselves safe. We are now using cameras and Hi-Viz, and this is also a way to encourage riders to be polite to drivers.

“The Pass Wide and Slow Group has a lot of followers who have lost their horses, partners, husbands or wives in an equestrian accident while riding or carriage driving on roads.

“With 22,800+ members, we want improved road safety for ourselves, and better off-road facilities for horse riding and carriage driving.”

To join Pass Wide and Slow’s Facebook group, visit facebook.com/groups/passwideandslow