A rider who suffered life-changing injuries when her horse was spooked by dogs out with a professional walker hopes her legal case may help prevent other such situations.
International grand prix dressage rider Melissa Smith suffered a smashed pelvis, broken back and head injury when her mare Lorentina reared and fell on her, on a bridleway in Surrey in December 2018. The case concluded this month; His Honour Judge Simpkiss had found that the walker, who had four dogs with her, had been negligent and was liable for Melissa’s injuries.
Melissa, a trainer, coach and yard owner, underwent multiple operations, spent months in a wheelchair and was told she might not ride again. She is back in the saddle but has been classified as a grade V para rider.
“It was completely devastating,” she told H&H. “It changed everything. I still take pain relief, and if I want to ride and function semi-normally, I have to do my rehab programme. I go to the gym three times a week, do mobilisations and stretches every morning.
“It’s been horrendous; for everyone involved. I’m a private person but if this stops one person; if somebody’s walking their dog and has heard about the case and thinks, ‘I need to keep my dog under control around horses,’ it’s a good deed done, isn’t it? It might change things.”
Melissa’s case was that the dog walker admitted liability at the scene but “events were contested” by the walker’s insurance.
In his judgement, Judge Simpkiss said that “with the benefit of hindsight one can easily see that if all four dogs had been on leads this accident would probably not have happened”.
He found that the accident was caused by the mare’s being spooked by the two smaller dogs, who were both “running around”.
“The black dog ran in front of the horse… when the white dog was somewhere behind it,” he said. “There was no reason for ‘Loti’ to rear up unless the dogs had caused her to feel threatened. She had not shown any signs before of being nervous or skittish and she was used to dogs.
“Something out of the ordinary must have happened to cause Loti to rear and this can only have been the dogs’ behaviour… Because they were off the lead and not under any control from the defendant, they caused Loti to rear and the claimant to fall and suffer injury.”
Negligence
The case centred on whether the dog walker had been negligent, which the judge found was the case.
“The defendant appreciated the risk that existed where dogs and horses came into proximity,” he said. “She immediately tried to put them on the lead because of this. The risk of not having complete control of a dog if it is off the lead is increased four-fold if there are four dogs.
“Objectively, I find that it was foreseeable that if any of the dogs ran out of control near a horse it might ‘spook’ the horse and, in that event, there was a significant risk of the horse responding in a way that might cause the horse and rider to fall and serious injury to the rider.”
Melissa’s solicitor Mary Ann Charles, of Shaw & Co, is a rider, and a specialist in equestrian personal injury claims.
“It’s an important case, I think, for educational purposes,” she told H&H.
“It’s not an accident that should have happened. If there was greater awareness in those managing dogs around horses; I think there’s lack of understanding that this risk exists. The person on the horse usually understands but the person with the dog doesn’t necessarily. They’re concerned about the welfare of the dog, not really thinking about the welfare of the people they’re encountering.”
Insurance
Miss Charles noted that it was a positive that the dog walker had relevant insurance, which is not compulsory, but which did eventually fund the settlement. She praised Melissa’s consistency and reliability as a witness throughout as the other side fought the claim.
“It was a difficult case. The risks of it not being successful existed all the way through because of the way it was being defended, where everything was being challenged,” she said.
“I took it because I had every sympathy with Melissa. I thought, from her account about what happened, the dog walker was negligent, despite the fact they argued about that up hill and down dale. And we were proved correct. The case could have been settled much earlier, if there had been a constructive approach to trying to resolve it.”
Melissa said doctors said hers was among the worst pelvic injuries they had seen.
“I was lucky to survive,” she said, adding that although the payout has now been settled, “you don’t get six, seven years of your life back”.
“They tried everything,” she said. “They tried to claim I was negligent, that the horse was running in a circle. Then you get put on the stand and cross-examined and it’s not a pleasant experience, but the judge saw through it all fairly quickly. And hopefully now it’s all over.
“I’ve got my para classification so I’m looking forward to doing that, and I’m trying to get dispensation from British Dressage to compete in rising trot as I struggle with sitting trot because of all the metalwork in my pelvis.”
She added: “With something like this, your life just changes instantly. I’m sure the dog walker didn’t intend to cause harm, but it’s about taking responsibility. The [dog-walking] industry is quite unregulated, and I think it’s making things unsafe at times, for people on the ground and for horse riders. And if this does something to change that, it can only be a good thing, can’t it?”
Close control
British Horse Society safety team leader Des Payne told H&H it is essential people in charge of dogs have them under “close control” in areas where they might meet horses.
“Not only is this incredibly important to help keep everyone safe but, should anyone get injured, or be in fear of harm/injury (including horse riders) the person in charge of the dog at the time could face prosecution for having it ‘dangerously out of control’,” he said.
“If a dog is deemed ‘dangerously out of control’ it could lead to potential outcomes including destruction of the dog, disqualification from owning dogs, compulsory muzzling, two years’ imprisonment and a £5,000 fine.
“Having ‘close control’ means they can instantly be controlled, no matter the circumstances. We would always strongly advise putting a dog on a lead, even if the dog is used to horses. Our data confirms that loose dogs cause the highest number of deaths and injuries. We can’t forget that the welfare of everyone involved (horse, rider, walker, dogs and innocent bystanders) is at risk should a loose dog frighten a horse.”
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