Restraining order for showjumper who pleaded guilty to assault
A showjumper who rode her horse at a spectator has been fined £250, made the subject of a restraining order and ordered to pay £300 compensation.
Amy Olivia Ridler, of Solihull, pleaded guilty to assault by beating, on Jill Williams at Arena UK equestrian centre last April.
Mrs Williams was at the joint junior and senior show with her then 10-year-old daughter Daisy, but was standing by the ring as Amy was jumping.
“I was sending a text to my dog-walker, but the sun was in my eyes as I was trying to write,” Mrs Williams told H&H.
“I saw the horse slam the brakes on at the first fence and she gave it a smack, then at the third fence, it stopped again and she was eliminated.
“She saw me standing there with my phone and thought I was filming her, and went mad.
“She told her mum, who was nearby, to ‘get that f***ing phone off her’; she was shouting and swearing and saying she was going to run me down as she rode her horse at me. My daughter was upset.”
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Mrs Williams said Amy carried on riding at her, raising her whip.
“We were on a walkway and I didn’t know what to do,” Mrs Williams said.
“I was against the fence, with my right arm up to stop her riding into me, then she dug her fingers into my head.
“She dragged me along the walkway and I must have blacked out.”
Mrs Williams remembers being under the horse, and its back legs hitting her, and says she has since been told Amy let go, turned and rode at her again.
“There was a group of people standing around and some of them jumped the fence to pull her off her horse,” she said.
Police were called and an ambulance, although Mrs Williams escaped serious injury, and some of the witnesses made statements.
On 4 January, Amy pleaded guilty to assault by beating.
“At least I didn’t have to give evidence,” Mrs Williams said. “I’m just glad it’s been seen that what she did was so wrong. I was dreading her getting away with it.”
Mrs Williams said the incident has caused her considerable stress.
“She posted about it on Facebook and people were saying they were going to come round here and ‘f*** me up’, there were some really nasty comments,” she said.
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“I’m glad she’s got a criminal record, as that’s with her for life, and also, I’ve met some lovely people as a result of this, who have been really kind and supportive. That means a lot.”
On 4 January, Lincoln magistrates ordered Amy also to pay £85 costs. The year-long order bans her from communicating with Mrs Williams, directly or indirectly, or referring to her on social media.
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.