A RIDER died after suffering severe head injuries when she was thrown from her horse, an inquest heard yesterday.
Hayley Whitfield, who had spent a day riding with her father, was returning home with him on the East Cowton to Great Smeaton road, in North Yorkshire, when tragedy struck.
Frank Whitfield said the horse, called Arthur, had been startled by something as they were on their way home to East Cowton.
He told the hearing in Easingwold: "She got on to a grass verge and was about to gee him up and then he just pulled back.
"There were no cars, no aircraft or trains or anything like that. Sometimes plastic bags can spook a horse but I saw none of that."
Hayley, 23, was thrown from the horse and sustained severe injuries in the accident on June 17. She died three days later in the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton.
North Yorkshire East coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict of accidental death
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