A professional horse rider has died while competing at an equestrian event in Devon.
Georgie Campbell was competing at the Bicton international horse trials when she suffered a fatal accident, according to British Eventing.
“Medical professionals attended immediately following her fall at fence 5b,” the governing body said in a statement. “However, unfortunately, she could not be saved. The horse, Global Quest, was assessed by the onsite vets and walked back to the stable and is uninjured.
“To respect the family’s privacy at this extremely difficult and sad time, no further details will be shared.”
An air ambulance, double-crewed land ambulance, operations officer and hazardous area response team were sent to the scene.
Campbell was initially a top-level showing rider before turning to eventing, and she had represented Great Britain numerous times on Nations Cup teams and appeared at several five-star events, the highest recognised level of eventing.
Overall, Campbell had competed in more than 200 events – winning on six occasions – during her career, and had outings at the five-star events Badminton and Burghley. She married event rider Jesse Campbell, who had previously represented New Zealand at the Tokyo Olympics, in 2020.
Together the pair joined personal and professional forces to create Team Campbell Eventing.
An earlier statement released by the organisers reported that Campbell and Global Quest had fallen and the rider had been attended to immediately by on-site medical professionals. The event, which was due to conclude on Sunday with a cross-country phase, was abandoned.
A spokesperson for South Western ambulance service NHS foundation trust said it was called to an incident near Budleigh Salterton at 3.05pm on Sunday. An air ambulance, double-crewed land ambulance, operations officer and hazardous area response team were sent to the scene.
The Bicton international horse trials is a four-day event taking place from Thursday to Sunday. Devon and Cornwall police have been contacted for comment.
