A Bacup girl has issued a warning to electric bikers after a “traumatic incident” saw two inconsiderate riders knock her off her horse, leaving her with severe injuries.
Ally Burke, 14, was riding her horse on the bridleway between Stackstead and Stubbylee Park, when two riders on electric bikes sped past her.
Despite trying to flag them down and asking them to stop or slow, Ally said they "completely ignored her" and caused her horse to be spooked.
She says her horse is young and unable to deal with things passing quickly, and threw her onto the floor. Due to the downward slope of the path, she landed in front of the horse which proceeded to trample on her.
She was left with cuts down her back and legs and was advised to visit A&E, but she has continued to work at the yard, where she cares for numerous animals.
Ally said: “I want to raise awareness to cyclists. I wanted to get it out there.
"When you think about it, it is only little old me, but it could have been someone else.
“The injuries could have been more severe, and I am lucky to be here rather than in the hospital or worse.”
Ally said the two riders saw what had happened to her but did not turn around to help and instead sped off.
Having used the bridleway several times before Ally regularly comes across cyclists and has found most of them to be respectful, with most dismounting to push their bikes past her.
However, she described the latest incident as traumatic and doubts if she will use the path again.
She added: “I won’t use that path again. I haven’t been on my horse since, not that I can as I am so beat up.
“In the future, I will be dodging that bridleway and try to find other bridleways and it has really shaken me up as I haven’t been in an accident like that before.”
Her horse was unharmed and was checked by a nearby vet.
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