Novice rider sues riding school after breaking her back

A rider who broke her back when she fell off a riding school horse has launched a legal battle for compensation of £200,000.

Novice rider Helen Baker claims in a High Court writ that the horse reared, throwing her to the ground.

She fractured her spine and injured her right arm, neck, and lower back.

Mrs Baker, 42, of Wrexham Grove, Waterlooville, Hants, is demanding damages from Willowbrook Riding Centre at Hambrook, near Chichester, West Sussex, after the accident on 13 January 2008.

Insurers for the riding school have admitted 75% liability, the writ says, but the two sides are thought to be unable to agree how much compensation she should receive.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (13 January, 2011)

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