Equestrian star told she faces jail term for fire safety breaches
ONE of Britain’s top eventing horse riders has been warned that she could be jailed following a conviction for breaching fire safety rules at her farm.
Isabelle “Izzy” Taylor, 39, who was once known as the “golden girl of eventing”, was told she could face custody.
The mother-of-two was given a dressing down by a judge for failing to respond to a probation officer trying to contact with her to arrange a pre-sentencing report.
Recorder John Bate-williams said: “There has been a completely unacceptable lack of communication between you and the probation service. This case clearly passes the custody threshold; there is a danger you’ll be sent to prison.
“This is a serious matter. You must treat it seriously.”
Gareth James, defending, explained his client’s failure to respond to probation, telling the judge it was “not perhaps of the utmost priority – taking second place to her family and animals”.
Taylor had earlier been convicted of breaching fire safety rules at Aldershot Farm in Bucknell, near Bicester, Oxon. Sentencing was adjourned until April 3.
Taylor was accused of putting at least one person at “risk of death or serious injury in case of fire” after she failed to install an operational fire detector, alarm system and/or fire extinguisher.
Serious breaches of fire safety laws in the workplace can result in a two-year prison term, according to the Government’s website.
Taylor is a leading international rider – winning the Le Lion-d’angers dressage competition in 2017. She was set to go to the Rio Olympics in 2016, but had to withdraw when her horse was injured. She runs her company Izzy Taylor Eventing from the farm.