Olympic dressage rider’s mother sued over kick in head by horse
Mother of gold medallist Laura Tomlinson sued for £200,000 by rider who suffered serious injuries
THE billionaire mother of Laura Tomlinson is facing a £200,000 lawsuit after an aspiring dressage rider was kicked in the face by a horse.
George Day, is suing Ursula Bechtolsheimer, claiming he was forced to give up a burgeoning career after suffering serious facial injuries and a traumatic brain injury as a result of the accident on March 5 2021.
Mrs Bechtolsheimer is the only daughter of German retail tycoon KarlHeinz Kipp, who died in 2017, and the mother of Tomlinson, the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist whose wedding to Mark Tomlinson, the polo player, was attended by Royal guests including the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke of Sussex.
Mrs Bechtolsheimer runs a horse breeding stable with her husband at Eastington House in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, where Mr Day says he was working at the time of his injury. He says he was hand-grazing a young horse called D’arcy, who had been injured and was on box rest, High Court documents show.
The horse grazed for a short while before suddenly raising his head and kicking out, hitting him in the face, and causing him to lose consciousness, the documents state.
He was taken to the
Great Western Hospital in Swindon with extensive facial injuries, including a shattered nose, fractured facial bones, eye sockets, and cheek bone, and underwent surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
Since the accident he claims he has suffered from neurological symptoms from his mild traumatic brain injury including fatigue, headaches, dizziness and blurred vision, reduced sensation in his face, blurry vision, tinnitus, and finds eating tough foods difficult.
He says he tried to return to Mrs Bechtolsheimer’s yard after the accident, but could not manage the work, and had become uncomfortable with horses. Now he is no longer able to ride professionally and cannot continue his equestrian career, the court will hear.
Mr Day, 31, who competed at a high level in dressage competitions, is claiming more than £200,000 in compensation for his injuries. He says his Olympic dreams have been shattered and has been left with few other job prospects.
Mrs Bechtolsheimer, who helped train Carl Hester, the dressage Olympic gold medallist, in his early career, has admitted some liability for the accident, but wants Mr Day to prove his injuries.
She also wants him to prove his claims that he was a highly skilled rider, who had competed up to the Prix St George level, was riding professionally at the time of the accident, and that his proposed career path would have included the possibility of competing at Grand Prix dressage and beyond.
In her legal defence the billionaire said Mr Day’s claim that he would have had a successful career as a professional rider, but for the accident, is fanciful.
A spokesman for the Bechtolsheimer yard said: “Mrs Bechtolsheimer and her team extend their sincere sympathies to George for the injuries he suffered, and wish him all the best for his treatment and recovery.
“The matter is in the hands of the insurance company for the purpose of determining the amount of damages that he is to receive. Liability has been admitted not on the basis that the accident was caused by negligence but by virtue of the fact that the Animals Act 1971 imposes strict liability in circumstances such as those in which George sustained his injuries.
“Neither Mrs Bechtolsheimer nor her daughter were involved with the management of the yard at the time of the accident.”