Girl severely injured after being thrown off horse in UAE

Abu Dhabi - Horse trainer sentenced to six months.

A horse riding trainer, who was accused of negligence, which caused major head injuries to a young girl after a horse threw her away, will be jailed for six months.
The angry horse had lifted his front limbs and threw away the girl, below 15, as she learned riding.
Official court documents stated that the Arab girl was having riding lessons in Abu Dhabi when the incident occurred.
The trainer had apparently left her to practice riding on her own after teaching her the basics.
The girl noticed that the horse wasn't walking normally. She tried to touch him but just stopped walking. And when she told the coach about it, he just shouted at her.
He reportedly said to her that the horse was just angry. The trainer then left her alone and went on to attend to other trainees.
The coach later asked his assistant to move the horse. The man intimidated the horse with a stick and then beat him, resulting in the horse running and lifting his front limbs and threw away the girl. She suffered major head wounds and was treated in the hospital.
Investigations showed that the trainer made a mistake of leaving the young girl, who had not acquired enough riding skills, alone on the horse which caused her to fall off horse which had become unruly.
Prosecutors said the trainer was negligent and had violated the training procedures.
He was charged with negligence which resulted into causing injuries to the girl.
Both the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance had and the Appellant Court had sentenced him to six months in jail after he was found guilty of the charge. He was also given an additional three-year suspension sentence.
The man challenged the ruling to Abu Dhabi Court of Cassation which has rejected his appeal and upheld earlier rulings by lower courts.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi