Cross-country rider died after horse refused fence at Harrogate course

A 64-YEAR-OLD rider died after he broke his neck when his horse refused a fence on a cross country course in North Yorkshire, an inquest jury has heard.

Eye-witnesses said Robin Donaldson’s fall during the Beckwithshaw Horse Trials, near Harrogate, seemed “innocuous” at first and in “slow motion”.

People watching expected him to get up and dust himself down, but the former teacher was rendered instantly unconscious having suffered a fractured odontoid peg in his neck.

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He was taken to hospital but died more than a fortnight later.

Retired GP Angela Browning said she watched Mr Donaldson approach fence 10 of the cross country course where she was judging, on August 22, 2010.

Dr Browning told an inquest in Knaresborough that Mr Donaldson approached the fence “beautifully”.

She said: “For some unknown reason the horse decided it wasn’t going to go over it.”

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Dr Browning said the horse - Matilda Cruz - put one leg up as if it was going to jump but then just stopped. Mr Donaldson went over the fence still clutching the horse’s bridle.

She told the jury: “We were expecting him just to stand up and get up because it was a slow motion fall - very innocuous.”

The retired doctor said medics were at the scene within seconds.

John Russell - one of two doctors present at the event - described how he arrived at the scene to find Mr Donaldson had a pulse but was not breathing.

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He said on-course paramedics were with him at the fence and he decided to put the patient on a spinal board while ventilating him.

Dr Russell said that by the time they were ready to take him to hospital a county ambulance had arrived to undertake the journey.

He said this all happened within about 15 minutes and there was no delay taking him to hospital.

Summarising the case for the jury, coroner Rob Turnbull said Mr Donaldson was taken first to Harrogate District Hospital but later transferred to a specialist ward at Leeds General Infirmary.

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He said it was established Mr Donaldson was paralysed from the neck down and would not be able to breath unaided.

After a further deterioration, it was decided further medical intervention was inappropriate.

Mr Donaldson, from Little Ribston, near Wetherby, died on September 9, 2010.

The inquest is due to conclude tomorrow.

Mr Turnbull said the jury will hear evidence tomorrow from a Harrogate Borough Council investigation into the incident, but the coroner indicated this had “shown no problems in terms of the organisation of the event itself”.