Frightening fall from horse leaves beloved Tasmanian Equine Endurance Riders member seriously injured

After a harrowing accident left a horse rider in hospital, Tasmania’s equestrian community united to help Janine Parr through the serious injuries. Her friends share what happened.

Tasmanian endurance rider Janine Parr was recently injured in an event, with the community rallying around her. Picture: Facebook

A harrowing accident at a horse riding event left its members shaken and a beloved rider in hospital.

On April 19, at a Tasmania Equine Endurance Riders event in Glenelg, Janine Parr was bucked from her horse at a cattle grid, where she was thrown into a ditch.

Ms Parr suffered broken ribs, a fractured arm, fractured collarbone, a partially collapsed lung and a scratched kidney.

One of the first people on the scene was her close friend, Carolyn Foley-Jones.

“She couldn’t breathe,” she said.

“Which was quite frightening.”

Ms Parr was airlifted to hospital from the event.

Ms Foley-Jones said it would be a long recovery for Ms Parr, who works in a casual role while also raising her 17-year-old daughter, Halla.

Janine Parr was seriously injured during a horse riding event in South Tasmania, her community has rallied to support her. Picture: Supplied

Ms Parr is well known and loved at her endurance club, having been involved for years.

”She’s salt-of-the-earth,” Ms Foley-Jones said.

“She brings people into the sport, always the first to put her hand up to help. She’s a bloody good mate.”

Ms Parr helps organise endurance events in the south of Tasmania, finding tracks and marking them.

Tas Endurance president Andrew Miles said Ms Parr was one of the most committed people to the sport, which was why so many people were rallying around her.

“Endurance is a family,” he said.

“A lot of us probably see what happened to Janine as it could have happened to us. We all play the same game.”

Tasmanian endurance rider Janine Parr was recently injured in an event, with the community rallying around her. Picture: Facebook

Mr Miles said people in the riding community made sure Ms Parr’s horses and vehicles made it back to her place and her daughter was taken care of.

“At the end of the day, if she needed help with anything, there would be plenty of us getting into a car and we’d do whatever needs done,” he said.

Mr Miles said it was chaos when Ms Parr was injured but was thankful for the volunteers, people on the ground and emergency services.

“I'm in admiration of the people who were there, holding her hand,” he said.

“It wasn’t long after we got the message, we could hear the chopper in the distance.”

Ms Foley-Jones said the endurance community wanted to support Halla to a national ride being held in Tasmania next month called the Tom Quilty.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family.

Originally published as Frightening fall from horse leaves beloved Tasmanian Equine Endurance Riders member seriously injured