Horse trainer died when she fell off horse while drunk, inquest hears

A professional horse trainer died when she fell off her horse while drunk after downing a double gin and tonic at 6am, an inquest has heard.

Annette Day, 60, of Lambley Paddocks, Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, suffered a fatal brain injury in the fall, the court was told.

Nottingham's Coroner's Court heard yesterday how her husband Andrew heard a change in the footfall of the horse when she fell.

He realised something was wrong and raced over to find his wife lying on the floor but she said she was unharmed.

But she admitted when she was riding she 'suddenly felt dizzy' and the next minute she was on the floor, Nottingham Post reported.

She fell on to the arena's soft sand and no damage was found on her helmet, with her telling her husband 'let's go back to the house'.

Mr Day drove her back to the home at Lambley Paddocks but she fainted and he was forced to call for an ambulance.

She was rushed to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre where it was found she had a coma score of three - which means she was completely unresponsive.

Mrs Day had bleeding on her brain and could not be operated on so medics intubated her.

Coroner Dr Elizabeth Didcock told the court: 'Her brain injury was thought to be unsurvivable.

'[Her husband] reports she was a long-term alcoholic and drank about half-a-bottle of spirits a day.'

She added: 'On the day of the fall, she drank a double measure of Gin and Tonic at 6am.'

Mrs Day fell at around 4.40pm on May 14 and she passed away in hospital two days later.

She had 173 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood - over double the drink drive limit, a toxicology report found.

Dr Didcock concluded her death was an accident and caused by the haemorrhage from the fall.