Horse rider thrown to ground after dangerous overtake at Sumburgh

A DRIVER who dangerously overtook a horse and resulted in the rider being thrown to the ground has been banned from the road.

David Garrick, from Tingwall, admitted carrying out the manoeuvre at high speed and in the face of oncoming traffic near to the Sumburgh Airport runway on 14 October 2025.

Garrick had been following another car in overtaking the horse but had failed to spot a van coming around the corner, Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday.

The dangerous overtake meant Garrick had to speed up to pass the horse, spooking the animal and resulting in the rider being thrown to the ground.

The 60-year-old driver also failed to stop after the incident, despite seeing it in his wing mirror, because he was heading to the airport for a flight.

Garrick admitted overtaking dangerously and failing to reduce his speed while passing the horse, and also failing to give a safe passing distance, when he appeared at court on Wednesday.

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Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the incident occurred at around 2.30pm, and that that the rider was an “experienced equestrian”.

She was dressed in a high-visibility jacket and the horse was also tacked with high-visibility gear.

Both the horse and the rider would have been “easily visible” to drivers, Mackenzie said.

Another car had overtaken the horse safely and Garrick had followed, but had failed to take account of a van coming around the corner on the A970 main road heading to the airport.

Mackenzie said Garrick carried out the overtake without moving on to the opposite side of the road, and was seen driving at “excessive speed”.

The horse was frightened by the speed and noise, and threw the rider to the ground. Other passing motorists stopped to help her, but Garrick continued on.

Mackenzie said Garrick could be seen “looking in his wing mirror” back at the scene.

The rider did not suffer any significant injuries, but had tenderness around her spine and her neck afterwards.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Garrick had seen the horse but had failed to see the van, adding this was “something he should have anticipated”.

Garrick had to accelerate to pass the horse as a result, with Allan adding that his client conceded his exhaust may have been “fairly loud” as he did so.

The driver could see in the wing mirror that the driver was standing up afterwards, Allan said, and he had been unable to stop because he had passed the barriers on to the Sumburgh runway.

However he said there was “no excuse” for Garrick not going back to check the rider was okay afterwards.

Allan said Garrick had driven in countries around the world and had never been involved in an accident before this.

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Garrick was a runner, Allan added, so was aware of what it was like to be on the road and not in a vehicle. He said Garrick had displayed a “lapse” of that knowledge in this case.

Allan said Garrick was very much looking to apologise to the rider affected and to the horse-riding community for the incident.

Sheriff Robert Frazer said the overtake “could have had more serious consequences”, and that it was “extremely fortunate” there was no significant injury caused.

He banned Garrick from driving for a year and fined him £700. Garrick will also have to sit the extended test of competence before regaining his driving licence.