JANUARY
The British Horse Society (BHS) publishes 2022 road accident figures and they don't make easy reading. In total, 68 horses died on the roads in Britain, 125 were injured, and 139 people were injured, too, despite Highway Code changes intended to improve horse and rider safety introduced the previous year. Data shows that 3,552 road incidents involving horses were reported to the organisation, representing a 21% increase on 2021. The BHS says that 82% of incidents occur because a vehicle passed too close to the horse, while 78% were caused by a vehicle passing too quickly.
FEBRUARY
British Riding Clubs introduces a new rule on the use of the whip, specifying that these artificial aids can only be employed to encourage an equine forward, or straight at a fence, and not as an instrument for venting the rider's frustration on a reluctant horse.
MARCH
Charlotte Dujardin gives birth to a baby girl, Isabella Rose, on 6 March, and just two months later returns to the competitive fray, alreay back to her best and piloting Royal Windsor Horse Show in the grand prix and freestyle.
The Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation (UECF) states that more than a year into the Russian invasion of Ukraine there is little respite from the horrors of war for both people and equines, and that more than 800 horses are at risk of starvation
