Published: April 17, 2008 04:30 pm            

Bee blamed for bronc ride

PELHAM, Mass. — It might have been something as tiny as a bee that brought down Cheryl David's 1,200-pound horse, seriously injuring its rider, the Pelham woman's husband said Thursday.

David, 50, dialed 911 from her cell phone after her horse bucked her off, then fell on her. A police officer used GPS on his own cell phone to find her and then to guide a medical helicopter to the field where David had been riding her 12-year-old horse alone Wednesday afternoon.

"She had been out there for quite a while, having a beautiful ride,'' Steve David said of his wife, "when all of a sudden (the horse) let out a shriek and started jumping around. She was trying to calm him down when he let out another shriek and he went bananas. He became like a bronco, bucking pretty violently, and when she fell on the ground, he fell down with his back feet on her stomach.''

David said his wife thinks the horse may have been bitten or stung by a bee because she noticed something buzzing around her after she landed on the ground.

David said his wife, who was expected to be released Thursday, didn't need surgery, as he had feared she would.

"The hospital kept her to observe her overnight,'' he said. "She was pretty bruised inside, but not enough to require surgery. She might have some fractured ribs, but they are not cracked.''

She was bucked from her Rocky Mountain horse, a pleasure breed known for its mild temperament, while riding on private property behind a wooded area near her home.

The horse returned home alone shortly after the accident, Steve David said. He found the horse in the yard, eating grass.



John Basilesco writes for The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.

        

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