Scourge of Traveller pony and entice racing: ‘Cruel’ sport terrorises motorists – whereas injured horses are dumped by the facet of the street to die – but it surely’s not unlawful and police cannot act with out risking lives

Thundering along at high speed, a group of young people in chariots laugh and smile without a care in the world as the wind rushes through their hair.

There’s a competitive spirit among the friends, with one flame-haired woman turning to face the other riders and capture the entire spectacle on her smartphone. 

The footage, one of many uploaded to social media and often with a pulsing dance track added to the background, has garnered thousands of views and evokes all the glamour and thrill of a high speed ride.

But this is no ordinary day out at the races.

As it emerges, the group – from a Traveller community – are racing their ponies and horses far away from an organised race track or private land. 

Instead, they are galloping at speed along bustling high streets, narrow country lanes and dual carriageways.

In one instance, seen by MailOnline, they are brazen enough to ride the streets of the capital along Tottenham Court Road, with bewildered motorists slowing down to allow them to pass without incident.

In another, scores of motorists on the A40 are seen being held back by travellers in cars so that a race can take place along a stretch of the major road. 

But for all their portrayal of the races as fun and exhilarating, police and local councillors have become despairing of the ‘disruption and danger’ caused on the roads, while others claim it encourages antisocial behaviour, illegal gambling and in its worst extremes, death.

In 2018, Mikey Connors, the nephew of Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty was tragically killed while racing a horse and cart on a public road in Thamesmead, south-east London. 

Animal welfare experts have also raised their concerns, dubbing the practice as ‘appalling cruelty’, where in some cases the bodies of young ponies have been simply abandoned at the roadside, having collapsed from the exertion. 

But for all its risks and disruption to other road users, it is – surprisingly – still legal for such groups to ride their horse and traps on public roadways. 

Travellers who indulge in trap racing – also known as ‘trotting’ or ‘sulky racing’ – staunchly defend the practice as ‘a deeply rooted cultural tradition’ and say they have as much a right to use public highways as motorists.

And while there is sympathy for the travelling community to not intrude on their traditions, there are now growing calls for the law to be changed so that such races are made an offence on public roads.

Trap racing has been seen up and down the country, but over in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire and in nearby Amersham, races are said to take place on an almost weekly basis. 

In February, police were forced to issue a Section 34 dispersal order in the Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Peter area after they discovered evidence of an ‘unauthorised pony and trap event’ involving hundreds of people planned on the A413.

Despite this, Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber, who covers the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire region, said there has been a ‘perceived lack of police action’ on the issue, which has become ‘a frustration for people’.

He has received hundreds of emails in recent months from residents alarmed by sulky racing and who are concerned about everything from antisocial behaviour and risks to road users to animal welfare. 

Mr Barber, who has written to the Department of Transport to change the law, said: ‘While we’ve had some really good operations in place recently which have been really effective at deterring it, there is, in my view, definitely a gap in legislation. 

‘Undoubtedly if you are riding dangerously – and there is even some old legislation about riding a horse and carriage “furiously” – that is an offence. 

‘But the police have very real, practical problems in stopping it.

‘When you’ve got racing going on do you put a police transit van in the way and risk a crash between a horse traveling at 30 or 40 miles an hour and a big ton of metal? 

‘Or do you put officers out on foot, and then risk them getting injured?

‘What I think would be helpful is if it were an offence to race horses on the road in the first place and then you wouldn’t need to wait until someone was doing it dangerously or acting recklessly, and having police officers putting themselves at risk.

‘You could prevent it from happening by stopping people from starting the race in the first place.

‘A group of travelers who want to race could then approach a local authority and say we’d like to close this road at the weekend for an event in the same way that lots of communities will seek to close roads for all sorts of things.

‘It would then be up to the local council to decide whether or not that’s something they’re willing to do.

‘But it would prevent people just turning up, closing a road effectively themselves by taking it over and just racing.’

Thomas Broom, a Buckinghamshire councillor for Gerrards Cross, said scores of residents had been in contact with him to raise their concerns about the ‘extremely dangerous’ sport – where riders have even been spotted on the wrong side of the road.

He said: ‘The issues we face over pony and trap racing in Gerrards Cross and Denham are threefold. 

‘First, there is the disruption and danger caused on our roads, vehicles supporting the racing will block off and essentially close sections of road for the races to take place on. 

‘These events are often filmed and live streamed so we have even seen vehicles travelling on the wrong side of dual carriageway to film races taking place on the other side. 

‘This is obviously extremely dangerous for the public as well as those taking part. 

‘Secondly, there is the antisocial behaviour that surrounds the event, particularly around staging points where traps and vehicles gather prior to racing. 

‘Residents are trapped in their homes, abused and threatened if they try to leave their homes, we’ve even had reports of glass bottles thrown at residents who have asked for their driveway to be cleared so they can leave. 

‘Finally there are huge animal welfare concerns, young horses are used which should not be moving at speed on these hard surfaces, they can be completely worn out after a very short period of time and are often abandoned in local fields to die.

‘Even the way the reigns are rigged for trap racing is inhumane and very damaging to the health of the horse. 

‘Police powers to stop these activities are limited as there is no clear statute making pony and trap racing legal on public roads – but this really needs to change.’

The issue has been brought to the attention of Sarah Green, MP for Amersham and Chesham, who said there was currently an ‘inequality’ between how cyclists and sulky trap users are dealt with.

She told MailOnline: ‘The introduction of specific legislation to regulate pony and trap racing would be a valuable tool for the police in dealing with this recurring problem.

‘It would enable officers to target enforcement at the riders themselves (not just their supporters) and could be an effective pre-emptive measure in allowing them to act when people start to gather for a race event.

‘Legislation on this issue would also resolve the current inequality of treatment between cycle racing, which is regulated on public roads, and pony and trap racing where no such requirements apply.’ 

Motoring campaigners too are backing a change to the law to bring more regulation in of such races.

Paul Hemingway from the Alliance of British Drivers said: ‘Anyone racing anything on the public highway should be doing so in an organised manner with the necessary safety precautions in place – be that marshalls and warning signs or road closures. 

‘Provided such measures are in place we have no problem.’

But among the voices of dissent is animal welfare charity RSPCA, which warned the practice puts horses and ponies at risk of extreme harm.

A spokesperson said: ‘Racing horses and traps on a public road being used by other traffic rather than a dedicated track can expose them and other road users to risk of collision and severe injury.’

And Dene Stansall, horse welfare consultant for UK campaign group Animal Aid, went further by calling for an entire ban on the practice and calling it ‘appalling animal cruelty.’ 

He explained that the horses and ponies are often very young – some are not even a year old – and are ‘whipped ruthlessly’ throughout such races.

He said: ‘My personal view is that when these races take place on roads or any hard surfaces, there will be trauma caused to the horse, both to their physical well-being and their mental well-being.

‘A lot of these young ponies who are raced are whipped ruthlessly.

‘They’re made to go as fast as they possibly can, and many of them fall in the road, and there has been occasions where these poor ponies have died as a consequence and indeed left at the side of the road.

‘The police do need to step in and do something about this. It also needs some legislation from Parliament to make silky racing illegal on public roads.

‘While it’s legal to drive a horse on a public road, these people are taking it to the extreme.

‘The vast majority of the travelling community who have horses in their care look after them very well. 

‘But these people who do sulky racing on roads are far removed from that, and they should be brought to book and punished accordingly under the Animal Welfare Act.

‘If we could, we would want to see sulky racing banned altogether’. 

MailOnline spoke to advocacy group The Traveller Movement, which said that rather than criminalising sulky racing, it would welcome ‘safe and regulated’ spaces where the activity can be carried out. 

Yvonne MacNamara, CEO, said: ‘Pony trap racing, also known as sulky racing, is more than just a sport, it is a deeply rooted cultural tradition within Romani and Irish Traveller communities, passed down through generations. 

‘This form of racing represents skill, pride, and heritage, bringing families and communities together in a shared celebration of identity. 

‘For many, it is not just about competition but about preserving a way of life that has long been marginalised. 

‘Despite often being misrepresented or misunderstood by wider society, sulky racing remains a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of Romani and Irish Traveller culture. 

‘Rather than criminalising or restricting this tradition, authorities should work with communities to ensure safe and regulated spaces where it can thrive, recognising it as an important expression of cultural heritage.’