A rider whose horse broke its neck on a Lucinda Green XC the Safe Way Clinic has received a £35,000 out-of-court payment.
Rachel Wallace and her novice eventer Gallant, known as Chester, took part in a clinic at Newton, Notts, on 21 February 2008.
Mrs Wallace claims Lucinda asked her to jump an obstacle from the wrong direction. They had a rotational fall and the horse broke his neck.
Chester has since recovered and competed at novice level last season with another rider. Mrs Wallace received the settlement last September.
“We had jumped the fence once, but it didn’t feel good,” she told H&H.
“I attempted to get a better stride but got it wrong.
“Chester tried to brush through the top of the fence, as it just looked like a 4ft hedge, but there was a telegraph pole on the other side.”
Lucinda said: “This is the first time in 25 years someone has tried to take me to court.
“If you train 1,500 people a year, somebody is going to fall off and eventually somebody is going to sue.
“The fence did have the red and white discs on the other side, for a hunter trials, but was perfectly jumpable from both directions,” she added.
This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (7 March 2013)
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