A teenage equestrian has had her Olympic hopes crushed after a horror car crash which left her severely injured and her prize-winning horse dead.
Tinks Walker was riding her horse Benny along a country lane in the Cotswalds in the UK, leading another horse alongside her when a car approached around a corner early in 2026, according to The Sun.
Ms Walker, 17, says she guided both horses onto a grass verge to avoid the car, which did not slow down as it approached and “barrelled” into the horses.
“I was on the grass, off the road. I thought to myself, ‘Has (the driver) seen me or not?’,” Ms Walker told The Daily Mail.
The teenager was flung through the car’s windscreen and was knocked unconscious.
Ms Walker recalls regaining consciousness to see her 10-year-old gelding Benny, who was reported to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, injured on the roadside.
“Benny did try and get up once, but struggled to do so and ultimately fell back down to the floor. He did not try and stand up again,” Ms Walker said.
Tragically, Benny’s injuries were so severe he was put down by a vet as he lay by the roadside.
Wiltshire Police contacted Ms Walker, who said that despite “sufficient evidence” to prosecute the driver, the woman would instead be subject to a “safe and considerate driving course” in an attempt to “re-educate” her.
Ms Walker’s “furious” family have begun legal proceedings against the driver.
Benny’s owners — which include Ms Walker’s grandmother — have also sued the driver for the loss of the prize thoroughbred.
The horse had been ridden by Olympic gold medallist Laura Collett before he was transferred to Ms Walker, who began training with Benny to “develop a next-generation partnership” for Team Great Britain.
Ms Walker says the experience has been “awful” and that she gets flashbacks to the incident “every day”.
“When I close my eyes, I see it happening,” she said.
“Benny was my best friend. He taught me things that no other horse ever had. He taught me that making mistakes was okay.”
According to The Daily Mail, the driver of the vehicle has been distressed by the incident but maintains she was driving at a low speed when she rounded the corner.
A spokesperson for the woman’s employer — who owned the vehicle — says the company is “deeply saddened” at Benny’s death.
“The incident was a terrible accident, and our team are extremely distressed by what occurred. As this accident is the subject of legal action, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.”