Jim was in and out of consciousness, as his horse was put down from horrific injuries.

Jim and his two nephews set off on October 7, 2024 in the morning with the aim to help out a friend in locating a colt that had jumped out of its paddock the day before.  It was missing and Jim felt his tracking skills could be of use.  He is re-known for working with horses, breaking them in or putting mileage on them on behalf of riders in his community.

Jim & Sass

You will find Jim on a horse more than driving a car, hōiho are very important to his life and whānau.

The stretch of road he and his 16-year old nephews were riding was regular riding for Jim because he is rarely in a car. The horse is his mode of transport.  Riding 6km from his home in Ngamoe to Kahuitara was a short trip.

They were nearly at their destination when Jim’s mare Sass started to get anxious, reacting to the vehicles passing them as they entered a narrow stretch of road.  Jim was preparing to stop the horses when the three riders heard a truck approaching.  

The engine of the truck and trailer unit started to slow down when it saw them and continued past the three horses. There was no grass verge.  The drivers cab past Jim who was in the middle of the three, and the trailer unit struck his mare.  Jim was thrown, hitting his head on the corner of a plastic water tank on the load.  He landed on the road. His mare lay on the road.

Leanne, Jim’s wife, got a phone call from her nephew to say Jim had been hit.  She was there in minutes and remained on site with him as the response unfolded.  

“Jim was moved to the side of the road. He was in and out of consciousness.  First on the scene was one Police officer from Gisborne, our local Police were on holiday.  Police allowed vehicles through the scene as the horse lay dying.   The firefighters arrived.  We know them all as they are either related or Jim went to school with him. There were six of them and they did what they could to comfort Jim.  I appealed to the Police officer to have the horse put down as it was horrific watching her in pain and vehicles pass by.  A cordon was put in place and we watched as the officer stood about 10m away and shot at her.  One, two, three, four times.  Eventually a firefighter stepped in, got his knife and cut her throat to end the suffering.  It was terrible. And I watched Jim as he took in every shot fired.  The mare was dragged by a vehicle to a nearby paddock.  

We later determined our mare had sustained a broken back and two broken legs from being hit. 

By this time Jim had been lying on the side of the road for a long time.  He too was moved to the paddock. The Ambulance finally arrived hours after the accident and we were told a Rescue Helicopter was on its way.  I raced home to get some clothes for Jim and myself, and when I returned the helicopter was on site.  It was late afternoon by now. They said I couldn’t fly with Jim so I made the 2.5 hr by car with my aunty to Gisborne Hospital.  It was a hard journey. 

In the hospital, the doctor decided to stitch an open hole on the side of his face instead of taking him to the theatre.  He was then taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he remained for two nights.  I was relieved because he was finally getting the care he needed.  I was told he had two bleeds on the brain. 

When Jim came out of ICU he spent 12 days in the Ward.  He suffered hot and cold sweats and dizziness. I asked for another brain scan and they did.  The bleeds hadn’t opened up.  We were told before we were discharged that he was at the highest end of a concussion.  

The trip home was awful.  What normally takes 2.5hrs, took me 10-11 hours as Jim couldn’t handle the travel.  He was sick, had throbbing headaches and I stopped often and waited until he dozed off and then would continue the journey.  I was worried about taking him home as we live off grid, and are still recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle.  Things are hard. 

Life after the unthinkable - January 2025

Jim has limited recall of what happened that day.  Just little bits.  His memory in general is terrible now.  He’s mobile, but can’t do very much as he gets tired quickly.  He suffers migraines. We were recently flown by ACC to Napier where Jim underwent two hours of testing. He failed all four, and was shattered afterwards.  The specialist explained everything to us and told Jim it was important for him to share how he was feeling and what was improving or not.

The Concussion Clinic team are looking at how they can help him as right now he can’t walk a straight line, look up, look right or left. 

Not long after we got home, I called the local Police Station and made an appointment to see the file on the accident.  There had been no discussion with us about anything since that day, no accountability, no apology from the driver – nothing. I wanted to read the driver's statement and asked for it. I read it and am not happy with it. 

We know the company and I have wanted to call them to give them a piece of my mind. But I haven't.  Police say it was an accident and nobody’s fault.  

We lost a valuable horse that day.  She had wonderful bloodlines.  There’s no compensation for us. 

Sass was a stunning mare

Rest in peace beautiful hōiho

We will continue to take things day by day.  Take things slow.  We’ve joined some horse groups and it’s been good for Jim to be around like-minded people.  Even if he can’t ride, he can just be around people who appreciate the horse.

Our nephews are doing ok. I was shocked that they didn’t receive any help or support to be honest.  I mean what they witnessed that day was traumatic and they’re only young.  They come and see Jim in the school holidays when they’re home from school.

We’ve started our own tack repair business together called Ngamoe Roping.  It was something we were planning to do before the accident.  I weave and Jim introduced me to working with leather so now I make bridles.

This story was written with the help of PWASNZ and approved by Leanne and Jim

A complaint on behalf of the Reedy’s was lodged with the Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA).  

In its 26th March 2025 response it found;

The officer says that Mr Reedy’s partner asked him to put the horse down. The officer considered that using his rifle would be the most humane way to euthanise the horse. After checking it was safe to do so, he fired 3 shots into the horse’s head. Unfortunately, this did not achieve the desired result and a further shot behind the horse’s ear was required to end its suffering. While the Authority acknowledge that this would have been distressing to witness, we do not consider the officer’s actions amount to misconduct or neglect of duty. Police do not have to euthanise animals and do not receive any formal training in the most appropriate ways to do so.

Police records confirm that the local ambulance attended while the officer was on scene, having received updates on Mr Reedy’s condition and location from Police and FENZ. It appears Mr Reedy was transported to hospital by helicopter around an hour later.  While there does appear to have been some delay in the ambulance and helicopter attending, due to the rural location of the incident, these delays were outside the control of Police.

The officer confirms he spoke to Mr Reedy and other family members at the scene.  He also conducted a scene examination and alcohol testing on the driver. He evaluated the driver’s account alongside evidence from the scene.  Based on this, the officer determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove criminal offending (dangerous, reckless or careless driving) by the truck driver.  The officer established that the point of impact occurred on a 100kmph road, on a tight section near a corner. The driver would have had limited time to move over and slow after seeing the horses but the evidence suggested he did slow down significantly and moved over as far as it was safe to do so, given the size of his vehicle and the width of the road and the bend ahead which reduced the visibility of oncoming traffic. The officer also noted the driver’s account that the horse backed into his trailer, which was supported by evidence from Mr Reedy that the horse was inexperienced and it was only his second time travelling on the road, and the fact that the other horses and riders (who were travelling in line) were not injured in the collision.

The officer accepts that following this incident he did not communicate directly with Mr Reedy.  However, he did speak to Mr Reedy’s partner and confirmed his view that neither Mr Reedy nor the driver were at fault for the crash and that this was an unfortunate accident which occurred due to the response of Mr Reedy’s horse.

We encourage you to read the full letter of response from IPCA.