Tributes paid to young rider killed in freak fall
Friends of a young woman, who has died following a freak fall out hacking, say they are “shocked and stunned” by her tragic death.
Jess Gill, 22, was riding with her mother Ros in Croxley Green, Herts on 24 February, when the accident happened.
Her five-year-old 17.1hh Irish sport horse, Dylan, spooked mildly while cantering, lost his balance and fell on her.
Jess was airlifted to St Mary’s hospital, Paddington with serious head injuries.
She was put into an induced coma but died six days later, on 2 March.
Jess was assistant editor at Chiltern and Thames Rider magazine. Her colleagues described her as a “talented and amicable girl who loved her job and her horses”.
She would, they said, be “sorely missed”.
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Jess was, they added, wearing a helmet when she fell.
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Flora Watkins spent several years working for BBC News before moving into print, first as a staffer at Horse & Hound, before going freelance.