By David Knox News Editor
A Shared Forest was released this week
RECENT incidents between horse-riders and mountain-bikers on local forest trails have led campaigners to produce a new safety video.
With the numbers of mountain bikers and horse riders increasing in the Tweed Valley, as well as other areas of Scotland, representatives from both pursuits have come together to create a cohabiting code.
And they hope the educational video – which features professional mountain bikers Reece Wilson and Jessie-May Morgan, along with expert horse riders Persia Bhatia and Lesley Walker – will encourage everyone to adopt best practice when sharing the forest trails.
The film was commissioned by the British Horse Society and Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland.
Graeme McLean is head of Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland.
He said: “It has been fantastic to see the growing number of mountain bikers exploring the forests across Scotland but we recognise that there have been incidents where perhaps mountain bikers are unsure how to react to, or safely pass, horses in shared areas.
“We hope that by showing the perspective from both the mountain biker and the horse rider that we can all learn something and go on enjoying what we love to do – safer and for the benefit of all concerned.”
The video, which was funded by Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland, British Horse Society, Scottish Cycling and through the European Community Scottish Borders LAG Leader Programme, demonstrates how both bikers and horseriders should interact with the other responsibly.
Helene Mauchlen from the British Horse Society told us: “We were very pleased to be involved with the making of this short educational film and applaud Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland for taking a proactive approach to something that could have become a major issue for our members.
“We hope that both our members and the mountain bike community are able to share this video and help educate everyone on how we can all responsibly enjoy the outdoors together.”
The video can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/380699970
