Horse Riding Accident

Like most children living on rural properties, 10 year old Lauren Knauf loves her pony.

In late March Lauren and her friend Sian, had spent the day riding their ponies and were heading home. All of a sudden Lauren's pony, 'Solomon' started to buck. On the fourth buck Lauren went flying to the ground.

The incident was totally out of character for 'Solomon' and they now believe the pony must have been stung by a bee.

Sian checked Lauren and then rode up to the farm house to raise the alarm. Lauren's Mum, Sam, arrived quickly at the accident scene and decided to phone 111.

Sam explained to the 111 operator the farm location and that they would need to take the four wheel motorbike to get to where Lauren was located. The operator then decided to despatch both the Wairoa St John ambulance and the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter from the Hawke's Bay hospital helicopter base.

The ambulance arrived first and saw Lauren was having difficulty breathing and initial indications showed she may have suffered chest and spinal injuries from the fall. The rescue helicopter was required to help transport Lauren to hospital quickly.

'When the rescue helicopter crew arrived they were absolutely amazing. The crew were totally professional and explained what was happening'.

'Once they arrived it all happened rather quickly. They gave Lauren pain relief and then lifted her into the helicopter. And then they asked me if I'd like to come on the flight and I froze at the thought but Lauren also wanted me to go', said Sam.

With reassurance from the rescue helicopter crew, Lauren and Sam were both taken back to Hawke's Bay Hospital.

'During the flight the crew explained what was happening, where we were flying over and totally reassured both Lauren and me. The crew were fantastic and really easy to talk to', said Sam.

Once the helicopter had landed they were taken to the Accident and Emergency department. Much to Sam's relief, Lauren had suffered a broken collar bone and was given the all clear.

You will be pleased to know Lauren has made a full recovery and is back up riding her horse, Solomon (and trying to avoid bees whilst riding!).

Special thanks to Lauren and Sam Knauf for telling their story.