Experienced rider dies in mystery fall from horse

MYSTERY surrounds the death of experienced horse rider Alicia Jalil found dead on Marlow Common with a horse grazing nearby.

Wendy Aitken, of Bovingdon Green, told an inquest on Tuesday that on June 30 she was out walking her dog when she spotted the saddled horse a short distance from the paddock where it was usually kept.

Mrs Aitken told the High Wycombe inquest on Tuesday: 'I saw the horse saddled up and had a funny feeling so went to have a look. I noticed a pair of legs sticking out from behind a tree. I went closer and the face of the girl was ashen white.'

She raised the alarm with daughter of the owner of the nearby paddock in Wolmer Woods, Rosemary Currans.

Only a week previously Miss Jalil, 23, who lived in Solihull but had been staying in the Marlow area, had ridden Sadie in the company of the horse's owner Miranda Smith to test if she would be a suitable candidate for taking over the keep of the animal during Miss Smith's gap year.

Vicky Lewis, a friend of Miss Smith from Claremont Gardens, Marlow, had joined them for the test ride.

She said: 'There was no sense of nervousness, Miranda had told me she felt quite comfortable that Alicia would have no problems with Sadie.'

In a statement read out at the inquest, Miss Currans said: 'When I was told there had been an accident I went straight to the back of the house. There was a girl lying by a tree. She was of similar size to Miranda.'

She added: 'My mother turned up and she checked for a pulse.'

Miss Currans said there was no movement and Miss Jalil's lips were blue. Pathologist Doctor Michael Turner said three ribs had been fractured and the spine dislocated, injuries that may have been due to hitting a tree or sharp object.

Tom Grace, Assistant Deputy Coroner, said: 'It appears we will never know what caused Sadie to trip or throw the deceased but I'm satisfied that the cause of death was a fall and or an impact with a tree.'

A verdict of accidental death was recorded.