Equestrian spectator Moira Davis sues Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre and Equestrian Victoria over injuries

A spectator who broke her leg walking over an obstacle at an equestrian showjumping event is suing the Werribee centre.

A spectator who tried to walk over an equestrian obstacle at a showjumping event is suing the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, Equestrian Victoria and a Point Cook company after she broke her leg and was left anxious and depressed.

In a statement of claim filed in the County Court, Moira Davis, 57, claims her leg and ankle never fully healed from her 2018 fall at a rain-sodden showjumping event run by Equestrian Victoria, Jumping with the Stars, which she claims was run without proper care and skill.

Ms Davis claims two men told her to walk over a portable horse bridge they had set up so spectators wouldn’t have to trudge through a large puddle.

But she slipped, fell, broke and dislocated her ankle, and broke her leg.

She later needed surgery and claims to have suffered from anxiety and depression in the years since.

Moira Davis, 57, pictured hobbling on crutches, says her leg and ankle never fully healed after she fell from a horse bridge at an Equestrian Victoria event in 2018. Picture: Supplied

Court records do not reveal how much Ms Davis is suing for, but damages and legal fees in similar cases often run well over $100,000.

She claims the centre and Equestrian Victoria are to blame for the negligent use of the slippery horseriding obstacle as a bridge.

Both the centre and Equestrian Victoria deny any negligence, and allege the Point Cook company which was hired to set up events, Precise Preps, should be the one to pay for Ms Davis’s injuries.

The company, in a defence filed in court, denies any wrongdoing, and says Ms Davis failed “to take reasonable care for her own safety”, failed to “to exercise common sense” when crossing the bridge, and failed to “pay attention to her surroundings” on the day.

The company has also pointed the finger back at the centre and Equestrian Victoria, and says its staff were directed to set up the bridge over the large puddle.

Ms Davis has continued to suffer in the three years since and a Facebook post said her ankle still swells up and aches every day, and fears she will develop arthritis.

The case returns to court at a later date.

Originally published as Equestrian spectator Moira Davis sues Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre and Equestrian Victoria over injuries