The High Court yesterday (Friday) ruled in favour of the Laois Hunt Club Ltd of Beechfield, Abbeyleix and landowner James Ferney of Ballacolla, Co Laois, in a personal injury case taken against them after a lady rider sustained serious injury while out hunting on a novice mare she broke in herself.

Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon ruled: “I find as a fact that the Field Master gave a warning to those behind in the field. Thus, the high bar required to prove negligence or reasonable forseeability has not been reached.”

Plaintiff Aisling Begadon (36), an experienced horse rider and avid hunt follower, paid a levy to join in a day’s hunting on March 8th 2014 with the Laois Hunt Club Ltd. She brought legal proceedings claiming damages in respect of an incident that subsequently occurred on lands at Ballacolla, Co Laois.

That afternoon at 2.30pm, the plaintiff succeeded in crossing a river that led into a field with a whitethorn tree obstacle, on the other side of which were brambles and a fall-away portion. The plaintiff made a decision to jump this obstacle, the horse’s feet got caught in the brambles and the horse rolled onto the rider. The rider suffered a severe back injury, sustaining two fractures that later required surgery. No spinal cord injury was suffered but she was off work for one year and also had to have two teeth crowned.

Despite the plaintiff’s requests not to be moved, she was physically lifted up and taken across the river and had to walk a quarter of a mile to a jeep belonging to a member of her family.

The basis of Begadon’s subsequent legal claim was that this particular obstacle was a forseeable hazard to which she ought to have been advised not to jump. Begadon represented by Liam Reidy SC and Paddy McCarthy SC, claimed that the defendants did not take reasonable care and proceedings to ensure her safety.

DEFENCE CASE

Represented by Stephen Lanigan O’Keeffe SC; Sinead Constant, Associate, DAC Beachcroft Solicitors, Dublin, with instructions given by Jayne Mannion in DWF Claims, the Laois Hunt Ltd and Mr Ferney filed a full defence, expressly denying that the plaintiff was required to jump that particular obstacle and that on the contrary, the field master of the hunt, had instructed the field not to jump it and led the hunt away from same.

The defendants alleged that the plantiff voluntarily assumed the risk of jumping the obstacle of her own volition and deliberately ignored the instructions given by the field master.

David Lalor, field master of Laois Hunt, for the last 25 years, gave his views that the unpredictability of fox hunting is a big attraction and said that the mare the plaintiff was riding was a novice although had hunted on one previous occasion prior to the incident.

On the day in question, he passed back a message that the particular obstacle was dangerous and unsafe.

He gave evidence that he told a few people behind not to jump that obstacle and if a person then did so, it was entirely at their own risk. He said they came out of the river between 50 and 80 yards away and there was no necessity to go near that particular obstacle.

Eighth generation huntsman Chris Ryan, senior master of the Scarteens, gave evidence that it was the duty of the rider to know what was on the other side of a jump and that he never heard of a hunt taking responsibility for what may happen.

He believed that the field master on this occasion, in informing followers not to jump that fence, did everything that could be reasonably expected on the day. He noted that the stragglers were out of earshot of the field master and that no horse had jumped the particular jump and that people had to take responsibility for their own actions.

FINDINGS

The High Court found that the master of the hunt was an experienced master, having been in that position since 1992. He was the chairperson of the Irish Masters of Foxhounds’ Association and since he found no way of seeing the landing site, he turned away from that particular obstacle and instructed the field. The High Court ruling found “there was an obligation on all members of the hunt to follow the Field Master, to keep reasonably close to him and not to lag behind and to ensure they were appraised of any directions he gave.”