A WOMAN called on her recent first aid training after a ten-year-old girl fractured her skull during a horse riding accident.

Wendy Scott, 49, put her skills to the test when Katie Benbow’s pony, Rosie, tripped and fell on top of her while she was riding at Richmond Equestrian Centre, in North Yorkshire, on Friday.

Katie was airlifted to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, by the Great North Air Ambulance Service in a serious condition.

After the accident, Katie was helped by Mrs Scott, from Knayton, near Thirsk, together with an off-duty paramedic, who was riding his horse nearby.

Katie remains in hospital where her condition is improving.

Her father, Simon Benbow, of Whitley Bridge, near Selby, paid tribute to the Great North Air Ambulance Service, saying: “If we had a million pounds to drop into the (air ambulance) fund we would.

“Considering the speed with which she was taken to safety, it doesn’t bear thinking if the service was not there.”

Mrs Scott had completed her first-aid training with the Great North Air Ambulance Service only ten days earlier and Katie’s accident was the third emergency she had dealt with in a matter of days.

“As Katie was laying there, a group of people ran over to her, but I could see she was unconscious,”

she said.

“There were lots of parents around her and she was getting moved, so I asked if they could step back.

“You have to detach yourself from the situation as much as possible. I am so pleased that I did the course and could help.”

The other two incidents which required her first aid skills both involved her sixyear- old daughter, Ria.

Mrs Scott had to pull over on the A66 near Penrith last Monday to help Ria when she began choking on a chocolate raisin.

Three days later, Ria was thrown from her horse and was taken to hospital after being knocked unconscious, although she was later given the all-clear.

􀁧 Great North Air Ambulance Service first aid courses are run through its trading company, which diverts all profits into the charity.

For details, call Peter Stead on 07887-801305.