Girl was bucked off minutes after removing riding hat
A 17-year-old horse rider was bucked off just minutes after removing her riding hat, an inquest has heard.
Nottinghamshire coroner Dr Nigel Chapman recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest into the death of Faye Cree held in Nottingham on Friday (24 April).
He said the incident, on 14 April, showed that a riding helmet should be worn at all times when in the saddle.
Ms Cree had taken off her hat and was leading her horse Finlay to his stable when she decided to ride him round the yard, her mother Kate told the court.
Mrs Cree, of Hose, Leicester, said the horse bucked and the girl flew head first into a wall.
She died almost a week later, on Monday (20 April) at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world

A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.