Team GB rower and Army captain died after being thrown from her horse
Team GB rower and Army captain died after being thrown from her horse into 10ft deep ditch when it was spooked and started running at 35mph, inquest hears
- Tanya Brady, 49, of Liphook, was riding her horse alone on April 28 last year
- She suffered such devastating chest injuries that a witness heard a ‘loud crack’
- Paramedics attempted to save her but she was pronounced dead at the scene
- Ms Brady won bronze medal for rowing at 2005 World Championships in Japan
A former GB rower and Army captain died after being thrown from her horse into a 10-foot-deep ditch after the animal spooked and started running at 35 miles per hour, an inquest heard.
Medal winning Tanya Brady, 49, of Liphook, East Hampshire, was riding her horse alone on April 28 last year when a scaffolder working nearby saw the animal acting ‘erratically’.
Ms Brady desperately screamed as she tried to control the horse but moments later it halted and threw her down into the 15 foot drop onto chopped down trees.
The mother of one, who led tours in Bosnia for the Army, suffered such devastating chest injuries that a loud ‘crack’ could be heard by nearby builders.
Tanya Brady (left), 49, of Liphook, was riding her horse alone when a scaffolder working nearby saw the animal acting ‘erratically’
Ms Brady (right) was an ‘accomplished’ Team GB rower and won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Japan
A post-mortem examination revealed that she died of multiple traumatic injuries to her chest.
Ms Brady was an ‘accomplished’ Team GB rower and won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships in Japan.
The ‘dedicated’ mother and wife to Sean Brady, a Brigadier in the Royal Marines, enjoyed riding horses near her home in Liphook after she retired from rowing and the Army.
The witness at the scene said: ‘The female rider took to the grass with her horse and the horse gathered speed. I estimate it got to 35 miles per hour across the green with the female rider screaming as she tried to get control of the horse.
‘She was ejected from the horse – I heard a crack as she fell.’
He added: ‘I could see she was in a bad way… There was no signs of life.’
She suffered such devastating chest injuries that a loud ‘crack’ could be heard by nearby builders
Paramedics and police attempted to save Ms Brady but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Hampshire coroner Christopher Wilkinson said: ‘We cannot identify what triggered this horse as it entered on to the grass.
‘It did get spooked and headed off at pace with Tanya still riding the horse before, I suspect, it came to an abrupt halt at the mound before the ditch and she was ejected from the horse and fell the 10ft into the ditch.’
The inquest heard that Ms Brady was commissioned into the Army and served with the Royal Logistics Corps where she continued her love of sports.
She became a full-time athlete and member of Team GB, taking part in the rowing world championships in 2005. She was married in 2004 and left the Army the following year.
Mr Wilkinson added: ‘Tanya was an accomplished Army officer, she was an accomplished sportswoman reaching an incredibly high level, she represented her country, the British Army, and she was a dedicated mother and wife.
‘She led a life through passion and drive.’
Concluding the inquest, he said: ‘It is one of the inherent risks of horse riding…everyone is acutely aware of not troubling the horse, but they are unpredictable.
‘We can’t be exactly clear on what triggered the horse, but what we do know is that it did spook and headed off at pace and across the grass.
‘Then, it came to an abrupt halt before the ditch and she was ejected and fell and struck the trees on the ground.’
Mr Wilkinson added: ‘Regretfully we have not been able to establish why the horse bolted but everything sadly flowed from that.
‘Significant efforts were made to try to save Tanya and they were commendable but although she showed some brief return to circulation, she died.’
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