A 52-year-old woman who was severely injured when her horse fell on her has praised the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). 

Denise Richardson-Rowell, 52, was getting on her stallion Hollywood at Heggle Lane Farm near Hesket Newmarket, Wigton, when he became unsettled and began to piaffe, which is a form of trot.

“We were on a bit of slippy concrete on the farm and all I felt was his hind legs slip under him and he panicked and went back over onto me. So there was 650kg on top of me, and he pinned me down," she said. 

Denise was looked after by a young man working on the farm until emergency services arrived. 

“I remember Dr Natalie Hawkrigg from Caldbeck Surgery and still to this day we laugh about it. She said “Denise you’ll be alright”, I grabbed her sleeve and said listen I’ve either broken my back or pelvis, get me some morphine.”

A team from the North West Ambulance Service arrived on scene and began assessing Denise’s injuries and put her in a neck brace.

Shortly afterwards the Great North Air Ambulance Service’s helicopter landed nearby, and a doctor and paramedic worked alongside NWAS to treat Denise.

 “I remember lying there before being moved onto a spinal board and listening to the air ambulance coming. Even now I can still hear it, it has a very distinctive sound," she said. 

Denise was administered morphine and received an airlift to Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

She said: “I was still very conscious and looking at the ceiling of the helicopter and the paramedic was talking to me. I was listening to the conversations of the team, and I’ll remember this until I die, ETA seven minutes, Cumberland infirmary in Carlisle.”

It was found Denise had broken her pelvis in five places and she was blue-lighted to Sunderland Royal Hospital where she underwent operations to repair the damage to her pelvis before being transferred back to Carlisle.

At the time of the incident, which was in October 2010, she didn’t know if she would walk again, but five months later she was back on her other stallion Maali and returned to eventing after 18 months.

She’s since held two dinner dances to raise money for GNAAS, who rely on public donations to survive, and has raised approximately £10,000 for the charity.

She said: “I have a real passion for the air ambulance they are amazing, their service is priceless.”

To donate to the air ambulance service, visit www.greatnorthairambulance.co.uk