A 15-year-old equestrian named Allegra “Tiggy” Hancock experienced a serious fall from her horse while riding at the Greengogue Equestrian Center in 2012. After the fall, the horse fell on top of her, causing her serious damage. Rushed off to the Children’s Health Ireland Hospital, the 15-year-old’s mother, who saw the entire incident, replied to questions by the coroner Aisling  Gannon. A newsfeed named breakingnews.ie gave all reports of the devastating incident, that shocked the equestrian community.

The news of Tiggy’s fall not only led to a queue of riders outside her home to give tributes but also pained the Irish equestrian team who donned yellow ribbons for three days post her the incident. Shocked netizens, saw an outpouring of condolences for the 15-year-old on social media. Here is a glimpse of what happened that fateful day in 2012 with Tiggy.

An incident that shook the equestrian world to its core

According to Tiggy’s mother, this incident happened a few minutes after 1:30 pm at the horse riding center. Further, Tiggy’s mother, Mrs. Hancock related how Tiggy’s horse crashed into a roller on a water jump and went above it. Post this, the horse fell on top of Tiggy.

Tiggy was rushed to the Children’s Health Ireland Hospital where doctors declared her dead on 16th June 2021. After her death, her mother Mrs Hancock, responding to the coroner Aisling remarked,  “It was just a tragic incident”, as reported by breakingnews.ie 

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After her death, her family began a foundation, named Tiggy’s Trust, to train and educate children interested in equestrian sports. This indicates how the 15-year-old’s love for horse riding had a strong impact on her parents. Here is a glimpse of Tiggy’s short but fruitful equestrian career, which made a mark on the world.

Tiggy’s spark of talent that burned brightly before being extinguished

The 15-year-old secured a bronze medal for Ireland at the age of 13 in the Under-16 European Eventing Championships. This event took place in Poland. She was the youngest to secure this laurel in equestrian sports for her country.

Studying at Kilkenny college, she was also a member of the Irish Pony High-Performance Event Program. Her favorite rider was Marcus Ehning. Practicing horse riding zealously, Tiggy was considered to be as good as senior riders, and was also a member of the Carlow and Kilkenny Hunt Pony Club. According to a report by Irish times, after her death, her father described her as a powerful personality and a leader. Her death united the equestrian community in grief, while various organizations like Horse Sport Ireland and the Irish Pony Society gave condolences.

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Tiggy’s journey shows how she follows her equestrian passion passionately before her life was unfortunately cut short. Sadly, this is not the only incident to capture the brutality that can often accompany the sport. How do you think such accidents can be prevented in the future? Share your opinions in the comments section.