AN EXPERIENCED rider was killed when a "flighty" young horse collapsed on top of her, an inquest heard.
Teacher and Guide leader Jane Booth, 57, a keen rider since childhood, suffered massive crush injuries to her upper body and died instantly following the accident in a field near her family home.
The death of Mrs Booth - named one of Northumberland's Millennium Women in 2000 for her services to the Guide movement - devastated her family, friends and the thousands of young girls whose lives she touched as a Guide leader.
She was enjoying a morning ride with her friend and fellow equestrian enthusiast Susannah Webb in a field near her home at The Manor, Longhorsley, near Morpeth, Northumberland, when the tragedy happened in September.
The inquest in Morpeth was told Mrs Webb had saddled up an old, slow and dependable horse called Jasper but Mrs Booth was riding a "young and flighty" horse named Squire, whose owner was in the RAF.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Booth suffered dramatic and serious crush injuries to her upper body.
North Northumberland coroner Ian McCreath said it was a simple, tragic accident and no one was to blame.
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