Family of fatally injured eventing rider raises £20K for rescue service
The family of a British woman who died when her horse clipped a jump at an eventing training session last year has raised more than £20,000 for the Air Ambulance service that came to her aid.
The horse ridden by Danielle Bridget Meehan, 32, clipped a fence that was no more than a metre high during a training session at Old Farm Livery in Ripley, Derbyshire, on July 14, 2021.
Danni Meehan and her horse, Killy Puissance (Lily), had earlier cleared multiple jumps at smaller heights, an inquest earlier this year was told.
Meehan, from Belper, suffered fatal head injuries in the rotational fall. An air ambulance arrived within seven minutes of Meehan’s fall, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. She was one of three eventing riders to lose their lives in training accidents in 2021.
The inquest in Chesterfield heard that Danni Meehan had been riding since she was 12, and her life revolved around horses. Meehan, who worked as a veterinary product sales executive, was described as a “confident, passionate” rider.
A misadventure conclusion was recorded by the jury.
In the months since the accident, the Meehan family had worked to fundraise for the Air Ambulance service, raising more than £20,000 to date. An earlier fundraising effort on a Virgin Money giving page raised £8,002.80 (£9,600.01 with gift aid) and after the closure of Virgin Money, started the new Just Giving initiative.
Her family described Danni as “hugely talented, hard working, focused, brave, modest, humble and so kind and supportive to everyone around her. It was always a joy to watch the amazing partnership between Danni and her horse, Lily”.
Another fundraiser in the form of an 80km bike ride on April 10 this year – which would have been Danni’s 33rd birthday – as part of the Cycle Derby Spring Sportive also raised funds for the cause.
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