Cyclists pass the horse from behind on both sides of the animal, with one of the riders hitting it. The police are investigating and the public backlash has been extreme.
Video cyclists hit horse after overtaking both sides
A triathlon in Britain has been hit by huge public backlash after footage emerged of competitors overtaking a woman on horseback.
While most of the riders passed the horse on the outside, two cyclists squeezed by on the inside. And one of those cyclists hit the horse on the way passed.
The incident occurred at Windsor Triathlon. The woman who was on horseback shared the clip on social media, which has been viewed millions of times.
Her original post has been viewed 2.4 million times at the time of writing. As well as that, it has been seen hundreds of thousands of times of many other versions of the footage being shared online.
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Adding to her comment, she said the matter was now under investigation by both the local police. Furthermore, organiser Human Race Events also said it was carrying out an inquiry.
The behaviour of these cyclists at the Royal Windsor Triathlon is absolutely shocking! I'm a cyclist, a driver, and have friends who ride horses. Frankly I'm embarrassed. Horse riders are vulnerable road users and must always have the utmost respect #RoadSafety #DashCam (1/2) pic.twitter.com/zpbToTp2zp
— DashCamEd (@DashCamEd) June 17, 2018
The woman involved said she had gone to a farm down the road. She had lived in the area all her life and never had a problem with cyclists.
She also said her horse was “bomb-proof”. And she claimed no warning signs had been erected to signal an event was on.
Furthermore, she said she was wearing hi-vis and her horse was wearing a hi-vis rug and breast plate.
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“The cyclist smashes along the side of my horse, taking my stirrup in the handlebars and bruising up my ankle,” she wrote when sharing the clip.
“My horse rears and bolts forward, taking off one of his back shoes. No one stopped to see if I or the horse was OK after this hit.
“I'm still in shock and feeling very sore along one side of my ankle.”
UPDATE 1/3: We are in contact with the individual effected by the horrible incident earlier today at Windsor Triathlon. We want to sincerely apologise to her and her poor horse.
— Human Race Events (@HumanRaceEvents) June 17, 2018
UPDATE 2/3: We have convened a senior level committee internally, and along with British Triathlon we will be reviewing the video evidence to identify those involved in this. Those at fault will be disqualified and banned from all future Human Race events.
— Human Race Events (@HumanRaceEvents) June 17, 2018
UPDATE 3/3: There will be further ramifications for these people with British Triathlon and potentially further action taken.
— Human Race Events (@HumanRaceEvents) June 17, 2018
Human Race Events issued a statement as the clip was published and going viral.
“We are currently investigating an incident at the Windsor Triathlon involving a group of cyclists and a horse rider,” it said.
“We are taking this very seriously. Riders will be identified and disqualified from all Human Race Events.
“All riders are briefed to follow the Highway Code,” it added of the race, which was not taking place on closed roads.
“We do not condone dangerous cycling of any kind. We sincerely apologise to the individual affected.”
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