Rider sues after falling off riding school horse

Flicker said:
...here we go again
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/article.php?aid=304982

I shudder to think of the insurance implications for your average riding school - amazed that they are still able to operate.
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Yep another nail in the coffin , its about time we had a more american system ie legal disclaimer for aceptance of risk when particptating in risky sports and induviduals having there own insurance instead of the no win no loss (to me) attitude some people have when they have a misfortune......
 
gracey said:
hmm i would like to know the full story before i comment :)
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I agree with this. I hate this sue sue sue society we seem to be getting into!!!

BUT when looking for a horse to loan for my ex I once tried a horse for loan that was promised to be suitable for the most nervous novice. I was literally in the saddle 2 seconds when the horse reared full up and nearly went over backwards. I hit the deck and was already sore from baling out on another one the day before that bolted. So I am sick of people lying about horses too

I know to a point that all horses are unpredictable but rearing in a riding school horse is a big NO NO. If it was really the first time it had happened or it had been stung or something similar then fair enough rider should NOT be able to sue
If however it turns out that they knew the horse had issues then yes she should sue and quite right too!! She has suffered badly and if this is the case should be looked after. But as I see it that would be the only reason for suing

I know of a so called riding school near me that uses totally unsuitable horses to teach novice children. Basically they buy and sell horses but use them to teach the kids inbetween. Most they have no history of and put the kids on when they have only had them a week or so:mad:
 
I do feel sorry for the lady, I can't imagine anything worse than having a broken back and I hope she makes a full recovery and isn't permanently affected by it. It's a shame that so many people are suing for things these days, and that the massive insurance premiums to safeguard against this are making it even harder for small riding schools to survive than it already was, but at the same time if I'd suffered a debilitating injury which resulted in not being able to work for quite some time (which I'd imagine would happen with a broken back) then I'd probably want some money to make sure I wouldn't have to worry about loss of earnings too. On the other hand, if something like this happened at the riding school where I work I'd be devestated. I think I'm just an eternal fence-sitter... I feel sorry for both parties!
 
Normally this king of thing annoys me. But I grew up in that area, I know of that place and all I will say is hmmmmmmmm..................................
 
I broke my wrist coming off a riding school pony and I didnt sue.
However had I broke my back, I might have done!

You dont know what made the horse rear. So im sure all this has been investigated.
 
I think that Soulful has it in a nutshell. If this was a genuine accident where the horse acted completely out of character then that is one thing, if the horse was known to rear or generally to exhibit behaviour which made it unsuitable for a novice rider in a school then it is quite another.

I have experience of too many riding schools which operate with horses which are completely wrong for the job and am actually surprised sometimes that there are not more cases like this.

Perhaps riding schools should now require that all riders have their own riders insurance and sign disclaimers. Obviously this does not negate a claim where the RS is negligent and has stuck a beginner on a nutter.
 
I have to say having visited that RS to look at livery options I am not surprised in the slightest, my sharer also did work experience there and wanted to leave after an hour. Its not one of the better establishment shall we say.
 
It is pretty sad what the world has come to :( We used to have 3 or 4 decent riding schools in our area and there is now only 1 as the others have closed to the increasing insurance costs!
 
Issuing a claim is one thing ("launching a writ", honestly H&H get your terminology correct), proving negligence and establishing liability is another, as is then proving the value of the claim. Don't know the establishment at all so won't comment there but this lady is a long way off having a successful case yet.
 
If the insurnace company has already acccepted 75% liability then I suspect the riding school had not "dotted the eyes and crossed the T's". Looking at some other comments on this I suspect that to be true.

Yes I feel sorry for the "good" riding schools with regard to insurance costs, there are also the poor ones that take "risks" and then it is the clients that suffer.

I would also agree that rearing is a no no in a riding school and would like to see the full details.
 
My wife and children all learned to ride at ( wait for the drum roll....... ) Fulmer International School of Equitation .... tad-da! Probably the finest place in the country at the time and certainly one of the most expensive.

My wife was still at the hands and feet free lunging ( they always taught "one's seat" first! ) stage when the instructor thought she was ready to sit a pugnacious looking chap with a hogged mane ( that made him look like an equine Mike Tyson) - she did quite well on 20 metre circles until another lesson ( sharing the school ) met at the apex - the horses started to have a barny squealling, kicking and lashing out which resulted in me Missus sailing over Mike's bum and down on her bonce. If it wasn't for the fact that Fulmer schools were deep and fluffy - she'd be dead.

Now luckily she wasn't damaged more than a bad headache for three days but it just goes to show that it's not just hole in the wall places that do irresponsible things.

Later on, they let my wife take a horse down a public road on foot wearing only a halter after it has been in all winter for the first bite of grass in April - I can't write down here what I said about that! All credit to her - my wife hung on and didn't let the horse bolt despite being pulled, stamped and dragged at close quarters but I'm afraid that it put paid to her horseydoings.
 
Cocobeans said:
Have to say I doubt the insurers would accept 75% liability if there wasn't a fault.
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Ah.... those insurance folks are well peculiar innit? Sometimes they'll cave in and pay up while at other times in similar instances, they'll fight tooth and nail so you can't be sure of whom was truly at fault just by the insurers attitude.

I worked at a riding school where there are two horses that are court cases waiting to happen. I sent one of the horses back several times when I felt the rider was totally unsuitable for one of them. He was great for advanced riders, but you'd never put a novice on him. Girl doing the horses tried to make me teach with him. I had a group of 6 novices and refused to have that horse in the lesson.

I'm proud of standing up tp her.
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Very well done you - and if you think about it - especially the fault angle - who do you think would be number one in traffic for blame? If a lorry driver is caught with an unroadworthy vehicle - it's him who gets points on his licence or worse even if his guvenor gets a fine too. I can see this business of corporate responsiblity filtering down to all walks ( and rides ) of life so be careful.
 
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