Teenage girl injured after falling off horse

At 11h33 on Saturday the 4th of July, NSRI Jeffreys Bay duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from Private Care ambulance services who were responding to Gamtoos River Mouth where an 18 year old British girl, a volunteer of Shamwari Game Reserve, on her last day in South Africa, had fallen off a horse while riding on the beach and was injured. She was in the company of 4 fellow horse riders.Paramedics were not able to reach the scene by conventional transport and the Horse Riding offices called that NSRI to assist. The scene was far down the beach and NSRI had the equipment and experience to negotiate the challenging terrain.Our Jeffreys Bay crew responded with our 4x4 rescue vehicle and picked up the Private Care ambulance paramedics at the Papiesfontein Beach along with the Horse Riding offices and negotiated challenging terrain to reach the injured teenager on the beach near to Gamtoos River Mouth.NSRI medics assisted the paramedics to stabilise the girl who was suffering neck and back pain from the fall from a horse. They immobilised her as a precaution for possible Cervical Spinal injuries and transported her in the sea rescue vehicle to the parking area at Papiesfontein. She has been transported by Private Care ambulance to hospital in a stable and satisfactory condition for further treatment.NSRI returned to the scene to collect her friends who were brought out of the area safely in the sea rescue vehicle.They were part of a large group of riders. It appears that the woman fell off a horse and complained of back and neck pain. The group did not want to take a chance moving her and called for ambulance support. 4 girls, friends of the injured girl, were left with her to wait for paramedics while the horses and the rest of the group were taken back to Papiesfontein. The horse was not injured in the incident and we strongly suspect that the girl will be released in good health following the precautionary medical exam.