Top British event rider, 16, dies after falling from her horse Alfie after he was spooked by a tractor

 

 

• Lucy Woolley thrown from horse near her home in Chattisham, Suffolk
• Was only ten minutes into a ride when it was startled by a farm vehicle
• Mother Julia: 'It was a dangerous sport - but riding is what she lived for'
• Described her daughter as 'beautiful with an amazing, infectious laugh'

 

Tragedy: Lucy Woolley, 16, died after falling from her eventing horse after it was startled by a tractor

A 16-year-old event rider has died after being thrown from her horse when it was spooked by a friend's tractor. Lucy Woolley, who had competed at a national level, died from her injuries 24 hours after the freak accident while out riding her horse Alfie near her home in Chattisham, near Ipswich, Suffolk. Her mother Julia said the teenager had gone out 'for a laid back hack' last week when the powerful eventing horse was startled by the vehicle. Farm workers dialled 999 and Lucy was flown by air ambulance to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where she was given emergency treatment.
Despite three hours of surgery, she died the following day on August 8.
Mrs Woolley said last night: 'Lucy was doing what she did every day - have breakfast, go out on a laid-back hack and then get on with the rest of her day. 'It just so happened that on that pivotal occasion they had only got ten minutes into their hack when Alfie got spooked by the vehicle. It was a fluke. 'The chap who was driving the tractor is a personal friend - fortunately they knew her and the horse, she said. 'As soon as she had the fall, they were the ones who called the ambulance.
'I heard the horse come back to the stables and chased off to find her. I was there within five minutes of the fall.' Mrs Woolley said she and her husband Peter understood the risks Lucy faced by event riding, but allowed her to continue because it was her passion.

Talented: Lucy had been riding since the age of three and had already competed at a national level

Passion: Lucy's mother said she was a diligent student but riding was her true love

Mrs Woolley said: 'Yes, it was a very dangerous sport and we had given a lot of thought to giving her the horse she had.