A 13-year-old schoolgirl was killed in a freak accident after being kicked in the head by a ‘spooked’ horse, an inquest has heard.
Horse-loving Maci Williams suffered a traumatic head injury when she was kicked by the animal while helping to lead a group of horses from a paddock to the barn.
She collapsed on the ground in front of her helpless mother, Caroline, after the incident at a farm in Lewes, East Sussex.
Her mother shouted: ‘Stay down, Stay down’, as the group of horses continued to kick out.
After the horses were cleared, she immediately rushed over and began trying to resuscitate her daughter.
Paramedics were called and they continued CPR before summoning the Sussex Air Ambulance.
Maci was then flown to King’s College Hospital in London where her injuries were found to be ‘unsurvivable.’ She was transferred to Chestnut Tree House, a hospice, where she died the following day.
Today, an inquest was told that the tragic accident happened at Lower Stoneham Farm in Lewes, East Sussex on February 27 last year.
Maci Williams, 13, (pictured) was killed in a freak accident after being kicked in the head by a ‘spooked’ horse
Maci, a keen horse rider, had gone to the farm to ride her pony, Susie, with her mother.
While they prepared to ride out they went to get the horses from the field but noticed that one horse, named Amir, had jumped his fence and was standing next to a group of mares in another field.
It was heard the mares may have been in season and that Amir had likely jumped his fence to get near them.
The group of riders had gone out to round up the horses, and the animals were being led from the paddock back to the barns down a lane.
Maci was leading her own horse, Susie, and another horse, Lulu, a short distance behind Amir, when Amir suddenly became ‘spooked’ and kicked out, which set off the other horses, causing them to kick.
Maci was caught with a kick to the head, causing horrific injury and her to fall to the ground.
She said: ‘Something spooked Amir which set Lulu off and the horses all started to spook.
‘I saw Amir kick out which I thought was at Susie and Lulu, and I saw Maci fall to the ground. I said “stay down, stay down”.’
The inquest into Maci’s death found it to be accidental, with the coroner concluding: ‘It’s one of those appalling accidents that happen sometimes with horses’
In a statement her mother said Maci had been around horses for many years and was used to them.
Ms Williams said Maci was ‘happy, bright and confident around people she trusted but could be quiet and shy with people until she got to know them’.
The hearing was told Maci, a pupil at Seaford Head School, had found school difficult and suffered from anxiety, but she loved to ride her horse as it helped ease her stress.
She looked after her horse, Susie, three or four days a week and she shared her with another rider at the farm, which is a DIY stables where the responsibility of care for the animal is on the owners.
Fiona King, assistant coroner for East Sussex, asked the family whether it was usual for riders to wear helmets or protective hats.
But giving evidence the Health and Safety Executive told the inquest that hats and protective vests were not usually worn unless someone was riding a horse.
Giving a conclusion of accidental death, the coroner said: ‘I think this was an accident with no one responsible.
‘It’s one of those appalling accidents that happen sometimes with horses.’
