A woman’s face was shattered into 31 fractures when her horse was spooked by a tannoy at a competition and accidentally kicked back at her.
Sarah Stokes, 26, had just finished second and was standing behind her mount Archie when a sudden announcement came over the PA system.
The horse had never kicked out before but unfortunately his hoof caught Sarah directly in the face.
She suffered 31 fractures and an open wound below her lip and was put into a coma as surgeons began carefully rebuilding her face.
She has undergone an operation to wire her jaw shut and faces months of further treatment – but has vowed to return to riding as soon as she can.
Sarah, of Sticker, Cornwall, said: “I’ve got about 31 fractures in my face, broken eye socket, broken jaw, missing teeth.
“I’m lucky to be here. Any higher and he would have killed me.”
She added: “When I was in a coma I was scared, really scared.
“You can see yourself and see everybody but you can’t talk and you can’t work out why you can’t talk.
“But they don’t know you’re awake.”
Sarah suffered the injuries during a competition in Chiverton, Truro, Cornwall but said she couldn’t wait to return to action.
She added: “Yeah I am mad but I love it and it’s my passion – it’s something I’ve always lived for.”
Close friend Sally Gentle has started a fundraising campaign to help Sarah pay her rent while she recovers.
Sally said: “Sarah is well known and loved by everyone in the equestrian fraternity in the South West.
“The money that we are hoping to raise will help Sarah and her mother Kay, with financial costs of being off work, bills, rent and hopefully after the trauma and stress of hospital time and operations a well-deserved holiday to finally put it all behind them.
“Those of you who know Sarah know that if this happened to anyone else she would be the first to dip her hand in her pocket to help out a friend in need, a dedicated equestrian whose love for the sport has sadly been paused by a life changing accident.
“This could of happened to any one of us, so please help out a friend who needs our support and please give generously.”
The campaign has so far raised £4,700 of a £15,000 target.
Sarah said she was thrilled with the gesture and added; “It’s amazing. You do worry when you’ve got to look after your finances.
“It’s gone above and beyond, the support is amazing.
“The fundraising is just a bonus, the awareness is what I want to get across. No matter who you are or what horse you’ve got you never know what could happen.”
