Pembrokeshire County Show goes on after horse bolted and injured visitors

  • Published
Media caption,

The air ambulance was called after a horse bolted at Pembrokeshire County Show

A show where a horse bolted, injuring eight including a 12-year-old boy, is continuing as organisers reassure visitors safety is "paramount".

Six people were taken to hospital after a horse jumped over an enclosure fence at the Pembrokeshire County Show near Haverfordwest on Wednesday.

Four people were in hospital overnight as Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society said it plans to review the incident.

Parts of the ground were shut after the incident and the horse was captured.

The air ambulance was called to help the injured, including an 83-year old man, after the accident on the second day of the three-day show.

The horse, which was in competition, threw its rider and broke loose into the crowd before it went "on a rampage".

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Pembrokeshire Show

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Pembrokeshire Show

Organisers cancelled the remainder of the horse competition after the horse bolted at about 15:00 BST on Wednesday.

The final day on Thursday opened at 10:00 and agricultural society chief executive Jan Pearce said the show is safe.

"Health and safety to us is paramount," Ms Pearce told BBC Radio Wales.

"Everything is in place from a health and safety perspective.

Image source, Wales News Service
Image caption,
An air ambulance was called to the scene after the horse bolted

"With any livestock, there is always that little risk but for us, we put everything in place and as a society it is paramount to everything we do."

The annual show, which attracts around 100,000 visitors a year, was first held in 1784.

An eyewitness described hearing the "footsteps" of the horse before it ran into people.

"I grabbed my sister and ran into one of the stalls," said Rebecca Pugh from Whitland in Pembrokeshire.

Image caption,
Eight people were injured and six were hospitalised after the horse bolted

"I saw the horse knock one person over, then I could see people running after it."

Ms Pearce added that the society employ a health safety contractor for the show and a "review" will take place on Friday.