Girl, 14, broke her back when motorcyclist spooked horse
A SCHOOLGIRL broke her back when a motorcyclist spooked the horse she was riding on a country lane.
Betsan Llewellyn- Jones was with a friend when the biker rode between their horses, causing them to bolt.
The showjumping- obsessed 14-year-old was thrown to the ground, fracturing her spine, and now may never be able to ride a horse again.
The biker comforted her until an ambulance arrived but then left without giving his details.
Police are trying to track him down – as is Betsan’s father, who says he just wants to thank him for helping Betsan.
She was riding a horse named Rascal with a friend on a pony near their homes close to Llanelian, Colwyn Bay, North Wales, on April 10 when a motorcyclist drove between them, causing the animals to bolt.
Betsan, who competes in dressage and showjumping, was left lying in the road and the biker – who said he was on a trip from Liverpool – moved her out of the path of traffic. Her friend was thrown into a ditch, but suffered only cuts and bruises.
Betsan’s father Rod LlewellynJones, 54, said: ‘When I saw her in the hospital she was screaming in agony. The morphine didn’t even help.’
The teenager suffered a compression fracture in one of her vertebrae which initially meant she could not feel her legs, and while she is slowly recovering her family do not know if she will be able to ride again.
At the moment she can walk only short distances, with the aid of a stick. Mr LlewellynJones, a researcher, said: ‘She’s still in a lot of pain now. We just have to wait now to see how the bone fuses back together. She is devastated at the thought she might not ride again. She rides every day, she’s been doing it since she was six.’
He backed the appeal to find the biker, who Betsan says was in his 50s with grey hair and a posh accent. He said: ‘I would like to have a chat with him. She’s said he was lovely with her and told her about his sons.’