Insurance - where do you stand?

Ashleigh Harris has just won a landmark case against her ex-boyfriend’s mother resulting in a pay-out of £3 million, after a fall left her paralysed from the waist down.

There has been the usual vitriolic keyboard warriors on either side of the story. However as with all stories only the people who were present on the fateful day know what happened, and even then their own interpretation of the events will be different. This is the nature of the truth.

For me the standout comment of the case is from the man who was selling the horse – this is quoted from the report in the Daily Mail - He described her as a ‘delightful ride’, although he wanted to get rid of her because she had proved to be too temperamental for point-to-point riding. To read the full story click here.

Personally I would advise against buying a horse that was sold for that reason!

I am not going to discuss the right or wrongs of the case or the nature of our litigious society and the effect it has had on risk taking. I am going to ask you to check your insurance carefully. Ring your insurance company and ask them if you are covered, make sure it is written in your policy.

I think letting people have a ride on your horse is a nice thing to be able to do, especially with children for whom riding could be outside their parent’s financial grasp. But riding is a high risk sport, accidents do happen. We are responsible for ensuring a basic level of care towards others.

Don’t let people ride your horse if you have any doubt about it – it is simply not worth it. Even if you were insured in the case of an accident can you imagine living with that guilt for the rest of your life?