“Pass Wide And Slow” for horse, rider road safety

A group of Martinborough horse riders will join a world-wide day of action mid-month, riding the streets to support a call for road safety awareness for both riders and their mounts.

“Pass Wide And Slow” (PWAS) by late August had more than 240 riders taking part in seven countries, from Britain and Ireland to South Africa and New Zealand, to ride for road safety. 

Ten Martinborough horse-and-rider teams are among the 38 signed on to take part country-wide, where the New Zealand Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) has confirmed no safety rules or  regulations are in place to safeguard horses being ridden on streets and roads.

Local organiser Anastasia Walsh said she and her colleaguees are constantly confronted by vehicles _ cars, vans, trucks _ showing no awareness of their impact on road-trekking horses and riders.

The group is circulating a petition to present to Parlament, seeking regulations to safeguard the  passage “of vulnerable road-users along roads and streets and amend the Land Transport Act to provide safety provision for horse riders and to help educate the road-using public. … Continue Reading

EVENTS  – September 2024

Wellington Heritage Festival

When: October 26 – November 17 

Where: * Wellington Region – 140 events

                * Wairarapa for 1st time – 11 events

How: “Crowd-sourced” local events

Why: Honouring the Past, Inspiring the Future

Entry Price: Not stated.

Martinborough School Annual Production … Continue Reading

25 Helicopter missions fundraising target

Plans are well under way for a Wairarapa fundraising event for Life Flight on Friday 1

November at the Waihenga Centre in Martinborough.

The team organising the event – JC Baxter, Nick Arnold, Susan Arnold-Barron and

Susan Stephen, along with Seb Grodd and Caroline Lee from Life Flight, cvlaim they are very excited about the Cocktail Function and are hoping to raise $50,000 which equates to 25 helicopter

missions. … Continue Reading

How Well Do We Know People in our Community?

By Lyle Griffiths

Pierce Boyle of Le Coiffeur _ his mother is French, his father a New Zealander. Pierce was raised in

Versailles.

“Every Sunday was very special for me. My mother would collect my grandmother and cousin, who was just a little older than me. We would be allowed to play at the Jardin de Versailles. We could run wherever we wanted, play hide and seek, invent stories or become adventurers or spies. 

Our only restriction: balls must not go into the water! That didn’t stop my cousin from launching leaves and making little acorn boats float in the ponds.

My first school or Ecole Primaire, started at 8:00 a.m. and finished at 4:30 p.m. The Principal was always at the gate to greet all the children and school wardens were employed to ensure children were safe during recess and lunch. Just before lunch there was a 15-minute play break. … Continue Reading