jess 1,244 Report post Posted February 22, 2013 Does this happen at other courses around the country as well? From Stuff website ... Horse's road escape a 'freak accident' KATHRYN KING Improved safety measures at Awapuni Racecourse after an escaped horse caused a death have failed to stop another horse from fleeing the racetrack and bolting down a Palmerston North highway. Awapuni Racecourse is reviewing its safety measures after a horse escaped the racetrack and galloped along Pioneer Highway about 6am yesterday. The latest escape has baffled racecourse staff, with track manager Brent Wall calling it a "freak accident". The track boosted safety measures after two horses escaped their minders onto the same highway in 2008, killing Feilding man Chris Nichols when one ploughed through his windscreen. In yesterday's incident, the horse escaped from the tie-up area of the racecourse as a rider was preparing to mount. The horse jumped a gate before disappearing into the morning fog. At least 10 people immediately took off after it, Mr Wall said. Donna Olsen said she was driving to work on SH56 when she almost hit the horse as it appeared out of the fog in front of her, stirrups flapping as it galloped. "I just saw this big black thing coming out of the fog towards me. "As soon as I became aware of what it was I slammed on the brakes and veered right." Mrs Olsen said she had a delayed reaction, and started shaking when she arrived at work. Mr Wall said the racecourse was unsure how the horse got to the highway, which is some distance away from the course itself. They were conducting an investigation. "We are always trying to improve safety, and doing anything that we can," Mr Wall said. After the death of Mr Nichols, the racecourse installed extra security measures to prevent horses from bolting and escaping on to the road again. In that instance, the horses had escaped while walking to the track, a route now bound by high fences. Yesterday's escaped horse bolted from another area. The horse was found about an hour later more than 8 kilometres away at the intersection of Jackeytown Rd and State Highway 3. The horse had lost some skin off his shoulder and his feet were likely to be sore, but he appeared to be fine, Mr Wall said. He was the first to escape out to the road since Mr Nichols died. The track saw about 300 horses a month, training six days a week. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindsay carston 81 Report post Posted February 23, 2013 I used to live in jackytown road.its quite a hike from the track, a miracle the horse survived Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess 1,244 Report post Posted February 24, 2013 Yes - very fortunate no fatality - human or horse. From what I hear, Mr Wall is perhaps painting a rather rosy picture to say the horse is "fine" - my information suggests it was a little more than footsore .... however considering what could have resulted, I'm sure he and others are feeling pretty relieved at the outcome ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
napier 339 Report post Posted February 24, 2013 What did you want Mr Wall to say Jess. The horse travelled 8 kms - on bitumen....work it out !!! Dont want the bleeding hearts of todays society putting their rubbish views in do we... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess 1,244 Report post Posted February 25, 2013 Errrr ... what did I expect him to say Napier? - well the truth's always a good option I would have thought ??? (and before you get on yr high horse about that - I'm not saying he told porkies - merely that the quote attributed to him probably gave the impression of a much more favorable outcome for the horse than perhaps was the case on the day). Not sure what you're on about, really. Are you recommending when things go wrong we should gloss over the facts/put some spin on things in order to avoid criticism by those you refer to as "bleeding hearts"? That's one approach I guess .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch Thistle 133 Report post Posted February 25, 2013 If they're doing all they can to avoid repeats, as Wall says they are, then their first step will be to increase the height of all their gates and fences. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
napier 339 Report post Posted February 25, 2013 Errrr ... what did I expect him to say Napier? - well the truth's always a good option I would have thought ??? (and before you get on yr high horse about that - I'm not saying he told porkies - merely that the quote attributed to him probably gave the impression of a much more favorable outcome for the horse than perhaps was the case on the day). Not sure what you're on about, really. Are you recommending when things go wrong we should gloss over the facts/put some spin on things in order to avoid criticism by those you refer to as "bleeding hearts"? That's one approach I guess .... When i was talking about "bleeding hearts" i was meaning the people trying to stop jumps racing,rodeos and greyhound racing...they dont need any ammunition to make a mountain out of a mole hill...Im not going to get on my high horse at all.Accidents like this will always happen (every now and again) regardless of what securities are put in place unfortunately. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess 1,244 Report post Posted February 25, 2013 I understand the race built fown the adjacent road has proved its worth in containing several break-aways, but perhaps this latest incident has exposed a weak point elsewhere which may be able to be strengthened without too much effort. Hopefully, anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
napier 339 Report post Posted February 25, 2013 Lets hope so... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
