'The SUV was right on our tail': Horse rider describes scary encounter

A woman from central P.E.I. feels lucky to have escaped with her life from a recent encounter with an SUV.

Abby Sawyer has been working with her horse Milo to get him used to riding on the road. Horses on the Island's highways have become more common in recent years, according to the Department of Transportation, and they have all the rights that motorized vehicles do.

• 'Don't be blowing your horn to startle the horse': P.E.I. considers more rules for buggies

Sawyer was on the MacDonald Road, a clay road that runs from Kelly's Cross to Crapaud. She had previously walked her horsedown the road to get him used to area. On Thursday morning she was riding him. A car and a van had already passed them without any issues, but then she heard an SUV coming up behind her.

"I motioned at them to slow down and they didn't. They got within 15 feet of me and my horse spooked," said Sawyer.

"Honestly, if you don't think something is going to stop for you you'd probably want to get out of the way too, and he bolted. Unfortunately, while we were bolting down the remainder of the road the SUV was right on our tail the whole way."

Milo continued to try to escape from the vehicle, and Sawyer saw they were coming to the end of the clay portion of the road. She was worriedwhen they hit the asphalt they could both be seriously injured.

But just then two cyclists appeared, coming in the opposite direction. Seeing them, Milo turned off into a freshly-plowed potato field. He slowed down in the soft footing, and Sawyer took the opportunity to jump off.

She said the SUV stopped briefly, but then drove off without checking on her as the cyclists approached.

She was unable to get a licence plate number, and RCMP told her they don't believe they will be able to track down the driver.

Sawyer hopes the driver comes forward.

"I don't really want charges. I would just like them to come meet me and my horse so they can put names to the faces of two people they could have killed," she said.

Sawyer said she has bumps and bruises, and is thankful she was wearing her helmet, which she said probably saved her from a concussion.

Milo does not appear to have suffered any physical harm, she said.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |'Steven touched a lot of lives': Mother fundraises for recovery house in son's memory
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS |Jonathan Torrens seeks out the most Canadian thing ever in TV special