Olivia Inglis: Young equestrian star crushed to death by own horse while competing as parents watch from stand

Teen dies almost instantly from impact as animal falls on her at eighth gate

Emma Henderson
Wednesday 09 March 2016 14:56 GMT
Comments
Olivia Inglis, 17, died when her family horse Coriolanus fell on her during a jump at a championship event
Olivia Inglis, 17, died when her family horse Coriolanus fell on her during a jump at a championship event

A young equestrian star has been crushed to death by her horse while competing.

Olivial Inglis died when her family horse, Coriolanus, fell on her during a jump at a championship event on Sunday in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

The 17-year-old was the eldest daughter of one of Australia’s most well-known racing families.

Her parents Arthur and Charlotte watched from the stands as paramedics rushed to her aid.

She is reported to have died almost instantly from the impact.

“You can imagine they are traumatised. Unfortunately sometimes horses make mistakes,” Equestrian Australian spokeswoman Judy Fisher told Australian newspaper the Daily Telegraph.

Ms Fasher said the horse fell at the eighth fence.

Organisers offered their tributes in a statement posted on social media.

Equestrian Australia said the fence had been cleared by three previous riders and have been used in last year’s event, where all riders completed the jump.

The rest of the event was cancelled while police investigated the incident.

The horse was taken into vetinary supervision.

People from around the world have taken to social media to pay their tributes to the teen, using the hashtag #RideForOlivia.

Scone is known as Australia's horse capital with riders travelling from across the country to take part in events.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in