Teenage horse-riding star died after pony ‘somersaulted and landed on top of her’

Tributes paid to 15-year-old Iona Sclater, who had been hailed as one of British horseriding’s rising stars

Iona Sclater was seen as one of British horseriding's brightest young talents (Adam Fanthorpe)

A rising star of equestrianism was killed aged just 15 when she was crushed by her pony after it failed to clear a hay bale during a jump.

Iona Sclater was riding the pony called Jack in a field in Cambridgeshire when she attempted to jump over the hay bale in August.

However, Jack clipped the top of the bale as he tried to clear the obstacle, throwing Iona off onto the ground.

Assistant coroner Simon Milburn said Iona had been riding Jack for four years and was well accustomed to the pony.

“I’m told Iona attempted to jump and Jack caught the bale at the start of the jump,” Mr Milburn told the inquest in Huntingdon.

He said Iona “landed on the floor on her stomach” and that Jack “somersaulted and landed on top of her”.

Mr Milburn said Jack was 14.2 hands (4ft 10in) tall and the hay bale jump was 1.32 metres (4ft 3in) tall.

Iona was pronounced dead at the scene by an air ambulance doctor at 12.36pm on August 11 this year.

A post-mortem examination found her cause of death as a crush injury to the chest, and Mr Milburn recorded a conclusion of accidental death and extended his condolences to the Sclater family.

Shortly after she died last month, British Eventing issued a tribute to Iona describing her as an “exceptionally talented and dedicated young event rider” and one of the sport’s “bright stars”.

In five seasons with British Eventing, the young rider had achieved 33 top-10 results and also represented the Eastern region at the under-18 regional team championships.

She had also secured a place on the Pony European Championships long-list.

Additional reporting by PA