Horse rider paralysed in fall sues dog owner for £5m

A HORSE rider is suing a dog owner for up to £5 million after a dog spooked his horse which then threw him to the ground, leaving him paralysed.

Financial adviser Lourens Koetsier, 63, suffered a severe spinal injury and now requires the use of a wheelchair following the accident in 2018.

Mr Koetsier claims the incident happened because Max, a Westie terrier like the one pictured, was off his leash. The dog ran under the horse, spooking it so much that it threw him to the ground, the High Court heard.

But Max’s owner David Thomas said there was no reason to blame his ‘small, elderly and gentle’ pet for the accident and denies liability. The court heard that Mr Koetsier and wife Monique were on holiday in Wales in June 2018 when he decided to go on a guide-led canter on a beach in Pembrokeshire.

As the riders set off for a canter, a barking Max began running towards them. ‘[Mr Koetsier’s horse] Bonfire reacted explosively to the presence of the dog,’ barrister Matthew Chapman QC said. ‘The claimant was violently propelled out of the saddle, over Bonfire and on to the ground. The claimant landed on or about the top of his head and suffered catastrophic personal injury.’

Barrister Andrew Arentsen, defending, said there was no reason why Max should have been on a lead since the beach was regularly used by dog walkers to exercise their pets freely.