Peter Savory was recently successful in defending a claim for injuries that arose when the Claimant was riding his horse in a group with the Defendant rider and others. Heard over several days, the trial considered the competing versions of events that gave rise to injury, expert evidence, and also the considerable amount of case law that has arisen in recent years considering strict liability and the Animals Act 1971.

It was the Claimant’s case the Defendant rider had lost control of her horse causing it to kick out and injure him. The judge found the Defendant to be blameless; it was the Claimant approaching inappropriately too close from behind that had startled the horse causing it to kick out. That engaged the complexities of the Animals Act and the second element of the Claimant’s case, that even absent negligence on the part of the Defendant rider, a claim could still be made out. That claim was pursued jointly against both Defendant rider and Defendant owner.

The Court considered the three limbs of section 2 of the Animals Act, all of which a Claimant must prove, before a court will consider the statutory defences available. Notwithstanding that Lewison LJ in Turnbull v Warrener said the Act was not intended to catch “ordinary riding accidents”, the weight of authority is that a horse will react, including kicking, as a normal characteristic in particular circumstances, and the damage would likely be severe. Being that they were inherent characteristics, and not particular to this horse, the experienced rider and owner Defendants were also assessed to have knowledge of those characteristics. Section 2 was made out. However the Defendants relied on the second limb of the statutory defence, that the Claimant voluntarily assumed the risk of injury. After considering a number of different authorities, and assessing the evidence, the trial judge found as an experienced rider the Claimant was aware of the risks of riding a horse, in the circumstances of the ride being undertaken, and dismissed the claim.

Peter was instructed by Siân Owen-Atkins of DWF LLP.