A ‘beautiful’ mother died after an ‘unpredictable’ horse spooked at barking dogs and bolted, dragging her along a country lane, while she attempted to lead it on foot, an inquest was told.
Ewa Larsson suffered life-threatening injuries after she attempted to hold on to the ‘terrified’ cob horse, which panicked and galloped away while being walked back to a riding school in Sutton in Kent.
It is understood the 59-year-old dog breeder and hotel manager, who lived in the village of Chilham, may have been trampled or kicked while hanging on to the horse’s bridle.
Ms Larsson was airlifted to hospital with severe internal injuries, where she was treated on August 27, 2025. Despite medical efforts, she died on October 13 due to organ failure and infection.
The horse, called Davy, was described by Ms Larsson’s partner Nigel Anderson as ‘unpredictable’ – as the inquest heard the horse threw the mother off its back mere weeks before the fatal incident, causing injuries to her buttocks and cutting her chin.
The jurors also heard Ms Larsson was forced to lead the cob on foot back to the stables, having failed to get back into the saddle after falling off while on a hack.
Ms Larsson was accompanied by Sally Deverill, an instructor from Cornilo Riding school, who recalled her laughing as she jumped back up from the ground, appearing uninjured.
Ms Deverill went to mount her own horse Eva when dogs started barking from a garden in Beacon Hill, causing the animals to ‘shoot off down the road’.
Ewa Larsson (pictured) died after an ‘unpredictable’ horse spooked at barking dogs and bolted, dragging her along a country lane, while she attempted to lead it on foot
Ms Larsson, who began riding at the stables Cornilo Riding, suffered life-threatening injuries after she attempted to hold on to the ‘terrified’ cob horse
The instructor told the inquiry, held in Oakwood House in Maidstone: ‘As I got back on, I could see Ewa and Davy were moving sort of sideways down the road.
‘The horse was trotting and she was pulling strong enough that Davy’s head was coming around.
‘Then she tripped and fell. It looked like he cantered a few strides, then he cantered down the road and off the road. I think she did get dragged.’
Ms Deverill recounted Davy being ‘terrified’ of the dogs, causing the horse to gallop away and into a field, but she did not see the horse trample or kick Ms Larsson.
Ms Larsson complained of pain in her chest and right arm as emergency services were called. She was assisted by passers-by and Cornilo Riding owner Robert Hinks, alongside other members of staff.
Hannah Stewart, a member of the public at the scene, told jurors: ‘As I approached Sally, I was trying to assist the situation and could see that someone had been thrown off. She was in the road.
‘I wasn’t asking questions about what happened, as I was dealing with the situation. I was quite far away from Sally, but what I gathered is that [Ewa] had been dragged and possibly kicked.’
Ms Stewart described Ms Larsson as seemingly stable, recounting her as ‘a bit woozy’. She added: ‘It was only later that day that I went on the village Facebook group and saw that there had been an air ambulance in the village. That was not the situation when I left.’
Ms Larsson, who was described as an ‘animal lover’, took up riding as a release from everyday life
The two horses were led back to the yard by riding school staff, Ms Deverill said, while Mr Hinks stayed with Ms Larsson until the helicopter arrived.
Mr Anderson, Ms Larsson’s partner, said she went into cardiac arrest while being airlifted, prompting concerns by doctors that she may not survive as she was rushed into surgery.
He told jurors: ‘She was in a coma at first but after a couple of weeks came out of the coma. The surgeons said because she’d had a cardiac arrest in the air ambulance and in the middle of the night, she might have brain damage.
‘She came around and starting making some progress. She came off the ventilator and came off blood pressure medication.’
However he said Ms Larsson’s condition deteriorated again and her organs began failing. He said: ‘Probably around this time, she contracted an infection which was going into her body, and doctors were not able to stop the infection, which ultimately took her life.’
Ms Larsson, who was described as an ‘animal lover’, took up riding as a release from everyday life.
Mr Anderson said: ‘She loved horses, loved animals and worked as a hotel manager. Going horse riding was an escape.’
He described Davy, who arrived at Cornilo Riding school in 2021 as an eight-year-old, as ‘unpredictable’, adding Ms Larsson was a ‘very strong-minded person’ so ‘sometimes she wanted to overcome things’.
Ms Larsson was airlifted on to hospital with severe internal injuries, where she was treated on August 27, 2025. Despite medical efforts, she died on October 13 due to organ failure and infection
Ms Larsson regularly visited the riding school since her first visit in 2023, yet Mr Anderson added: ‘[He] wouldn’t say she was an expert by any means.
‘She became confident and quite fearless because that was her personality.’
The inquest, overseen by coroner Katrina Hepburn, heard Mr Anderson, with hindsight, did not think she should have gone on the hack.
The jurors also heard Mr Hinks previously told police Davy was ‘no more spooky than any other horse’, while Ms Deverill said the school had ‘no experience of Davy being scared by dogs before and they had never been an issue’.
Tributes to Ms Larsson’s death poured in from friends, family and the wider community.
One tribute read: You brought joy, laughter and light to everyone who met you. You’ll always be missed.’
Another said: ‘Rest in peace, beautiful Ewa. What a loss for the world.’
A jury has been called for the hearing because the death has been treated as a notifiable incident, meaning jurors will assist the coroner in reaching a conclusion.
The inquest, which started on Monday, is ongoing.
