Teacher dies in riding accident

An amateur dressage rider has died following injuries incurred when she fell from a horse that she had raised as a foal.

Jayne Goodwin, 44, a primary school teacher from West Yorkshire, was returning home from an evening ride with friends on 9 January, when her 6-year-old Friesian mare, Kali, bolted as she was trying to remount after closing a gate.

Miss Goodwin was knocked unconscious and was taken by paramedics to Leeds General Infirmary. She had suffered massive brain injuries in the fall and the decision was taken to switch off her ventilated life support machine, an inquest heard at Wakefield Coroners Court last week (5 February).

She was known to be very “safety conscious” — friends said she always wore a body protector and was wearing a new helmet the night of the fall.

Miss Goodwin was an experienced rider, who was a regular competitor on the local dressage circuit. She had 7 horses, 6 of whom are currently at her stables being looked after by her friend Georgie Adkin.

Kali is in the care of a Friesian specialist in the Lake District.

The funeral took place today (Tuesday 11 February) at Rothwell Trinity Church.

Martha Terry

H&H features editor

Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.