BROWN v. ELK MOUNTAIN

Experienced Equestrian Injured in Riding Incident

Court:
Settlement reached.

Plaintiff's Counsel:
Chalat & Koupal PC

Facts
Helen Brown, a seventy-nine-year-old at the time of her accident, was an experienced horseback rider. She was participating in a group ride at Elk Mountain Ranch with her son and daughter-in-law. Ms. Brown had ridden horses all her life, and she told the wrangler prior to the ride that her stirrups were too long. The wrangler agreed, but told Ms. Brown that he did not have a leather punch to shorten the stirrups. The head wrangler, said that when the ride returned, that he would add a hole to shorten the stirrups for a better fit.

The horse Mrs. Brown was riding was over spirited, so much so that after the accident, it ran out of control, all the way back to the barn. During the ride, at a cantor, Ms. Brown's horse ran away into a gallop, resisting the reins, passed the others, turned left, and Ms. Brown fell off the horse. With the stirrups too long, she was unable to control the horse. As a result of the fall from the horse, Ms. Brown fractured her pelvis, and was transported to the hospital via horseback, pick up truck and van. At the hospital Ms. Brown spent a difficult week acquiring an infection, and then being transported by air ambulance to Michigan.

The Equine Activity statute, C.R.S. §13-21-119, did not immunize the defendant in this case for its negligence in connection with sizing the tack for Mrs. Brown. The statute provides that "(b) Nothing in subsection (3) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional . . .if the equine activity sponsor, equine professional. . .Provided the equipment or tack, and knew or should have known that the equipment or tack was faulty, and such equipment or tack was faulty to the extent that it did cause the injury. . ." Neither did the act immunize the defendant for providing an over spirited horse to a 79 year old woman. "Nothing in subsection (3) of this section shall prevent or limit the liability of an equine activity sponsor, an equine professional . . .if the equine activity sponsor, equine professional. . .(B) Provided the animal and failed to make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine the ability of the participant to engage safely in the equine activity or llama activity and determine the ability of the participant to safely manage the particular animal based on the participant's representations of his ability..”

The case settled for $25,000.