Groom sues stable owner for £1.5m after claiming she was 'lied to' about 'dangerous' horse that threw her off and broke her spine when she landed with legs astride arena fence

A groom who claims she was 'lied to' about a 'dangerous' horse that threw her off and left her with a broken spine when she landed with her legs astride a fence is suing a stables owner for £1.5million.

Amy Mahon, a work rider and groom with 30 years' experience, was doing a shift at Leicestershire livery stable Stonehouse Equestrian Farm in 2019 when a horse she was riding 'exploded' and sent her 'flying into the air'.

Ms Mahon, 45, somersaulted backwards out of the saddle and landed on a fence, suffering 'life changing' fractures to her spine which she says have left her unable to work or to ride horses, and needing two crutches to get around.

She is now suing stables boss Helena O'Regan for up to £1.5million, claiming she was 'lied to' about the fact the horse - Cisco - was 'an abnormally difficult and dangerous' animal, with a history of throwing off riders.

Amy Mahon (pictured above) is suing a stables owner after suffering 'life changing' fractures to her spine when a horse she was riding 'exploded' and threw her off. She claims the fact the horse was 'abnormally difficult and dangerous' was concealed from her

Ms Mahon, aged 40 at the time of the incident, is suing for damages under the Animals Act 1971, as well as accusing the stables boss of negligence at the High Court in London.

However, Mrs O'Regan denies liability for the injuries, pointing to text messages Ms Mahon had sent her post-accident, stating: 'It's not your fault: horses are horses and stuff happens.'

The court heard that at the time of the accident in August 2019, Ms Mahon had only just started working for Mrs O'Regan at Stonehouse Equestrian Farm, near Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.

Cisco was being looked after on a livery contract by Mrs O'Regan, under which she agreed to care for and exercise the horse for its owner, the court was told.

Ms Mahon was riding Cisco for the first time and had been exercising the 16 2/3 hand warmblood thoroughbred gelding for about half an hour, having been asked to do so by Mrs O'Regan, when the horse suddenly 'exploded', her barrister Emily Read told the court.

'He "turned himself inside out"...with enough force to pull the reins from Ms Mahon's hands, dislodge her, a very accomplished and experienced rider, from the saddle, detach her from her stirrups (and send her) flying into the air so that she somersaulted backwards, landing with her legs astride the arena fence,' she said.

Stables boss Helena O'Regan appears outside London's High Court where the case is being heard. She denies liability for the injuries, pointing to text messages Ms Mahon had sent her post-accident, stating: 'It's not your fault'

She told the judge the horse 'sent Ms Mahon flying with such force that she broke her spine.'

'This was not the only report of Cisco reacting with such force that a rider was sent somersaulting, reins snapping as the rider attempted to pull him back up.

'This also occurred on the next occasion he was ridden.'

Ms Read also told the court that, after the accident, Ms Mahon was informed by other riders that Cisco was 'dangerous,' having caused injury before, including to Mrs O'Regan herself.

'Ms Mahon was shocked to hear this, because had she known, she would either have declined to ride Cisco at all, lunged him first, or not pushed him as she did or ridden for as long as she did; and the accident would not have occurred,' the barrister said.

Ms Mahon says she had been told by Mrs O'Regan that Cisco could be 'quirky' when being ridden out.

But she accuses the stables boss of having failed to tell her about Cisco's 'mischievous propensities' and did not warn her that the arena had known features, such as cats and other wildlife dashing nearby, which could cause some horses to spook.

The barrister said, just before trial, Ms Mahon had 'discovered that Cisco had a degenerate spine and hocks, confirmed with veterinary imaging five weeks after her accident.

'She will say that it is very likely to have been known to Mrs O'Regan at the time of her accident that Cisco had something wrong with him, causing him to become more prone to napping or spooking, if he had not been so before.'

Ms Mahon - pictured here on one of her own horses - has been unable to work or to ride horses since the incident. She told the court she was informed by other riders after the accident that Cisco was 'dangerous,' having caused injury before

A horse dealer had, shortly after the accident, declared Cisco 'unsalable' after a 'spooky' test ride and a vet's examination which revealed he was 'unsound and lame' and suffering with painful bone issues, 'kissing spine' and arthritic hocks.

The horse was subsequently put to sleep, with the vet who did so saying that it was partly down to his 'spooky' behaviour, she added.

The barrister continued: 'Ms Mahon challenges the credibility of Mrs O'Regan as to the characteristics of Cisco and what she knew of these.

'In short, she will say that Mrs O'Regan has lied to her, she has persistently lied about the fact that she knew that Cisco was difficult to ride and prone to spooking, failed to comply with her duty of disclosure, deliberately concealing that Cisco was known to be abnormally spooky and to have had dangerous mischievous propensities.'

She told the judge, 'any horse may spook on occasions' but went on to insist that Cisco was an 'abnormally difficult and dangerous horse and prone to being wooden and spooking or napping, bucking or bronking to get rid of his rider and flee,' adding that 'his medical issues may well explain this'.

'She has injured her back and she will never recover. She can't go back to work and she can't ride. She has two crutches and is disabled,' she added.

Ms Mahon, in the witness box, said that 'all four of the horse's legs left the ground' in a sudden 'bronc' when she was thrown out of the saddle and injured.

She said she was later told that another rider had been 'thrown from the same horse' and a second had been 'warned off from riding Cisco'.

Describing her feelings on discovering the horse had painful medical issues, she told the judge: 'It explains why he folded that day. The horse was suffering from an incredibly painful ailment that in my experience can cause horses to be unpredictable and explosive.

'For four and a half years, the defendants have claimed there was nothing wrong with the horse that he was a saint.

'I was enraged to be honest. If I'd known he was spooky I wouldn't have ridden him. At 40 years old, I have no need to be thrown around and have to re-school somebody else's horse.

'He was subsequently put to sleep five weeks after he caused me significant injury when clearly everybody knew there was an issue with the horse based on the X-ray and his spooky behaviour.'

Cross-examining, Mrs O'Regan's barrister Roger Harris pointed out text messages Ms Mahon had sent to the stables boss after her fall.

In them, she stated: 'This was nothing more than a freak accident of the type which can happen when you are on horses. It's one of those things. Its not your fault: horses are horses and stuff happens.'

'That was my initial impression,' Ms Mahon responded in her evidence, adding that later she had received a text from a friend who knew Mrs O'Regan and her stables, who had told her: 'That b**** knew the pony was naughty and had bucked off people before' and also that Cisco had been 'stuck in its box for a couple of weeks' before the incident.

Giving evidence, Mrs O'Regan denied that Cisco was put down because he was 'spooky' and denied that she knew he was an especially 'dangerous' horse.

She also denied he had been cooped up in his box, telling the judge 'the horse definitely would have been put out overnight'.

In her witness statement, she insisted: 'There were no issues with Cisco. He was not naughty and had no propensity to buck or abnormal characteristics.

'He was also not 'an unbalanced ride' as now alleged by Amy....Cisco was no more likely to spook than any other horse.'

The trial is continuing at the High Court in London.