A 59-year-old mother died in hospital six weeks after being dragged along a country lane by a horse that bolted when spooked by barking dogs, an inquest has heard. Ewa Larsson suffered catastrophic injuries while walking a cob named Davy back to Cornilo Riding School in Sutton, near Deal, Kent, on 27 August last year.
The inquest at Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone heard that Ms Larsson, a dog breeder from Chilham, had been riding with instructor Sally Deverill when she fell from the horse in a field. After moving onto the road, she attempted to remount but failed, and chose to walk the cob back to the yard. As Ms Deverill prepared to mount her own horse, dogs barking from a nearby garden caused panic, sending both horses galloping down the road.
Ms Deverill told the court: 'The horses shot off down the road to escape the dogs. As I got back on, I could see Ewa and Davy were moving sort of sideways down the road. Then she tripped and fell. It looked like he cantered a few strides, then he cantered down the road and off the road. I think she did get dragged.'
Ms Larsson was airlifted to King's College Hospital in London with massive internal injuries. Her partner, Nigel Anderson, said she suffered a cardiac arrest during the flight and was placed in a coma. After showing signs of recovery, her condition deteriorated due to organ failure and an infection, and she died on 13 October.
The coroner, Katrina Hepburn, heard that Davy had been described by Mr Anderson as 'unpredictable', and that Ms Larsson had been thrown from the same horse just weeks before. The inquest continues.
