A former Team GB rower died after the horse she was riding became spooked and charged out of control at an estimated 35mph, an inquest has heard.
Tanya Brady, who competed for Britain in the World Rowing Championships in 2005, was thrown from the horse and died at the scene of the accident in Liss, Hampshire, in April last year.
An inquest in Winchester heard the 49-year-old army captain was riding her horse when a worker nearby spotted the animal acting “erratically”.
The witness told the hearing: “The female rider took to the grass with her horse and the horse gathered speed.
“I estimate it got to 35mph 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.”
Brady was found in a 10ft-deep ditch, and while paramedics and police tried to save her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of death was found to be multiple traumatic chest injuries.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded by Hampshire coroner Christopher Wilkinson on Monday.
He 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.”
Brady, from Liphook, Hampshire, served with the Royal Logistics Corp and became a full-time athlete and member of Team GB.
She 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.”
