RENOWNED race horse trainer James Given said the tragic death of a young stable girl -- killed when she was thrown from a horse and dragged for quarter of a mile -- was still very raw to him.

He was speaking after an inquest into the death of Atherton teenager Rebecca Davies.

An inquest at Lincoln Crown Court revealed how Rebecca, 19, was exercising a racehorse for Mr Given in the yard where she worked in Lincolnshire when it was forced to jump over another fallen horse, throwing her from the saddle.

Horrified colleagues heard her scream as her foot became trapped in the stirrup and she was pulled along the hard surface of the exercise ground, leaving her with fatal injuries.

Rebecca, who had been riding since the age of seven, was with a group of about 12 horses on farmland in Willoughton, near Gainsborough, when the accident happened.

Stable girl Lynn Jeffrey told the court she was riding a horse called Big Hitter when it fell, suffering a fractured pelvis.

Gallop track

She said her horse was partially blocking the gallop track when Rebecca approached from behind, and her horse leapt over the fallen animal.

She said: "I heard Rebecca scream and I looked up and she was being dragged by the horse, and then there was silence."

Coroner Roger Atkinson said: "It does seem that this was an accident which nobody could do anything to prevent.

"It was obviously a terrible tragedy for this young girl to die in this way."

Rebecca's father, Barrington, said outside court: "My reaction is purely one of relief and we can start rebuilding our lives."

James Given said: "It is still a very raw tragedy, not only losing an employee but someone who you consider a friend. It just seems such a terrible tragedy that she was taken from us."

Verdict: accident