A proficient teenage horsewoman’s desires are in tatters after a automobile crashed into her on a Cotswolds village lane – leaving her elite prizewinning horse useless.
Tinks Walker, 17, a terrific hope for British equestrian sports activities, went headfirst via the automobile’s windscreen and got here spherical to seek out her star gelding, Benny, dying within the street.
The accident shattered the teen’s hopes of choice for Nice Britain within the Eventing European Championships for Younger Riders subsequent yr.
Now her household need justice after Wiltshire Police determined to not prosecute the motive force – regardless of concluding there was adequate proof.
The household have launched their very own authorized proceedings for the accidents to Tinks and for the worth of 10-year-old Benny, stated to be value a whole bunch of hundreds of kilos.
‘He was the equine equal of an Olympian,’ stated Tinks, who has been using horses since she was a toddler.
Tinks Walker and Benny using collectively. He was a star horse who had beforehand been ridden by Olympic champion Laura Collett and was handed to Tinks to develop a brand new partnership
Tinks was devastated by the lack of Benny, the extraordinary eventing horse whom she described as her finest pal
The 17-year-old, seen right here with one other horse, has been using since she was a toddler and rises at 4am to slot in coaching together with her A Stage research
On April 2 this yr, Tinks took the thoroughbred, Killossery Kaptain – often known as Benny – out for an early morning trip with Lily, a two-star occasion horse, being ‘led’ by them.
As they walked alongside a rustic lane a couple of mile from her household house, close to Malmesbury, Wiltshire, she noticed a automobile ‘flying across the curve within the street forward of me’, she instructed police. She pulled Benny and Lily onto a grass verge however the approaching automobile didn’t decelerate, she stated. ‘This made me panic…seeing the automobile barrelling straight in direction of me.
‘I used to be on the grass, off the street. I assumed to myself “has she seen me or not?”. I felt completely powerless and the subsequent factor was I felt an influence. I awakened on the ground. It felt like I had been overwhelmed up.’
Her account to police continued: ‘I noticed Benny mendacity on the ground. Benny did attempt to stand up as soon as – however struggled to take action and in the end fell again all the way down to the ground. He didn’t attempt to rise up once more.’
Benny was a four-star competitors horse beforehand ridden by Workforce GB double Olympic gold medal winner Laura Collett, the present European Eventing Champion.
It was determined to move him to Tinks to develop a next-generation partnership for Workforce GB. The A Stage pupil skilled with him each day, usually rising at 4am to slot in her research.
Benny’s accidents from the crash have been so extreme, he was put down on the roadside by a vet.
Tinks using Benny at Tweseldown Horse Trials on March 15, 2026
Benny was ‘the kindest horse you’d ever come throughout’, stated Tinks’s mom Netia Walker. The four-star eventing horse needed to be euthanised on the scene of the accident
Prizewinner Benny along with his earlier proprietor, the double Olympic gold medal champion Laura Collett
Tinks instructed the Mail: ‘It was terrible. I used to be utterly helpless. There was nothing I might do. Day-after-day I’ve considered it. After I shut my eyes, I see it occurring.
‘Benny was my finest pal. He taught me issues that no different horse ever had. He taught me that making errors was okay.’
Tinks’s mom, Netia Walker, added: ‘He was the Brad Pitt of horses to us. He got here right here and was worshipped. He was the kindest horse you’d ever come throughout. He would have been essentially the most wonderful horse for Tinks, and it’s simply horrific.
‘My daughter might have been killed, we’ve got misplaced her finest horse and have one other one that’s so traumatised we will not trip her on the roads.’
After a five-month inquiry, Wiltshire Police wrote to Tinks and stated that whereas ‘there may be adequate proof to deliver a prosecution towards the alleged offending driver’, the lady had as an alternative been supplied a ‘protected and thoughtful driving course’ to ‘re-educate’ her.
The choice has left the household livid. Now Tinks’s solicitor Cathryn Godfrey, of Irwin Mitchell, has begun the method of suing the motive force. One other solicitor, Hannah Bradley, of Aria Grace Legislation, is performing for the house owners of Benny, one among whom is Tinks’s grandmother. She is suing over the lack of the prizewinning thoroughbred, stated by an impartial equine valuer to have been value a whole bunch of hundreds of kilos.
Fi Rutland, the opposite co-owner of Benny, stated: ‘The accident has devastated all of us. I’ve misplaced my pride-and-joy, it has damaged all our hearts, however extra importantly it has shattered a proficient younger woman’s desires and aspirations. The braveness she has proven is awe-inspiring.’
In the meantime a pal of the motive force instructed the Every day Mail she was very distressed by the horrible accident and was adamant she had been driving at low pace. A spokesman for the motive force and her firm, which owned the automobile, stated: ‘We’re deeply saddened by the dying of Benny following this tragic accident and our ideas are with all these affected. The incident was a horrible accident, and our group are extraordinarily distressed by what occurred. As this accident is the topic of authorized motion, it might not be applicable to remark additional at this stage.’
Tinks and her household are being supported by the British Horse Society which is campaigning for rural drivers to decelerate – warning that horses are being killed on UK roads at an alarming charge.
As a part of its Dead Slow campaign, it stated there had been 560 horse fatalities on the roads over the previous decade.
Alan Hiscox, the society’s director of security, stated: ‘Tinks is completely devastated at what occurred to Benny and she or he is just not alone. I have been to see 5 riders this yr who misplaced horses on the roads. The largest trauma is usually the guilt of the rider as a result of the horse took the influence and saved them from extra critical damage.’
As Tinks focuses on her restoration, she is competing in a charity race at Newbury on November 5 to boost funds for the British Horse Society and assist its security marketing campaign.
Tinks stated: ‘Nothing can deliver again Benny, but when we are able to elevate consciousness to make different riders safer on the roads, then perhaps some small, good factor can come from this horrible tragedy.’
- Tinks’s fundraising web page might be discovered here.
