Please Watch out for Horses!

After a recent, tragic accident involving a horse and a car on Frank Reeder Road in Beulah--the county has now installed additional signs like this one above, on Frank Reeder Road, Tower Ridge Road, and Bridlewood.  The roads crew has also been tasked with removing debris and overgrowth from the county's right of way (ROW) on these roads to give more room to maneuver for horses and horse riders....

One of the really neat things I enjoy about living in Beulah is the sight of the occasional horse back rider on the roads of our community.  It is unusual to see in most areas of Pensacola, so it is really a neat attribute of Beulah.  Whether they are riding off of Frank Reeder Road, Bridlewood--or over by the Beulah Park off of Mobile Hwy.  It's just a quaint attribute of our area.

Unfortunately, two and a half weeks ago there was a tragic accident in Beulah.

A car ran into a horse off-of Frank Reeder road, and the horse was killed.  The driver left the lane and veered into the bicycle lane striking the animal, according to the traffic report, and collided with the horse's right rear leg, shattering it badly.

Neither the car's driver, nor the horse rider were injured--thankfully--but the horse had to be euthanized due to the tremendous damage to its leg.

The horse's owner runs Horse Rides of Pensacola--and she related to me that close calls are frequent and that some drivers are deliberately mean spirited in the way they interact with horses and riders.

"I've had them flip me the finger if they have to slow down to go around us" she related.

She requested the county's assistance with additional signage, and this week the county installed multiple signs alerting drivers to the horse's presence in the area.


According to the experts and under Florida Statutes, horses and horse riders can utilize most of the state's roadways, and there are laws that dictate what automobile drivers must and must not do when driving where horses and horse riders share the roadways.


Please be considerate and share the road with courtesy; please watch out for horses and riders!