Police have been working to prevent instances of pony and trap racing taking place in The Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross.
Several instances of the act, which involves horses being raced on public roads, have been taking place on the A413 dual carriageway for a number of years, but recent events have led to road closures and dispersal orders.
One incident near Gerrards Cross on Saturday, March 4, saw Thames Valley Police (TVP) officers seize five vehicles from those involved and issue a Section 34 dispersal order.
Another incident took place near Amersham Road in Chalfont St Peter on Tuesday, March 25. According to a social media post by TVP’s South Buckinghamshire team, roads were shut to protect pedestrians, road users and the horses themselves.
An even larger incident took place on Sunday, April 2, despite preventative police patrols on the roads.
A race with a crowd of more than 200 people attending was planned for the afternoon.
A spokesperson for TVP said: “Officers continued to disrupt any attempt to race and called in additional officers and the helicopter to assist.
“We maintained peace and dispersed the crowd efficiently considering the escalating number of attendees and tensions at our ongoing disruption.
“TVP has a dedicated operation, called Op Gallop, that aims to deal with the disruption which pony and trap racing can cause, along with offences that may take place as a result.
“Officers have been making use of dispersal powers to disrupt the events and have also utilised temporary lane restrictions to discourage racing.
“We are working with local partners to explore all options that may be available to us in curbing this activity.”
Photo credit: Thames Valley Police
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