TRIBUTES have been paid to a Hampshire teacher who died after being thrown from her horse.

Friends and colleagues have paid their respects to Lindy Harding, who was killed after her Highland pony bolted on a bridleway and collided with a car on a quiet residential road.

Last night floral tributes had been left at the scene of the tragedy in Warsash.

The 59-year-old – an experienced and respected member of the Hampshire equine community – was thrown from the saddle of the 14-hand animal.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance helicopter was called to the scene in Fleet End Road and police closed off the road. But the retired teacher was pronounced dead at the scene having suffered severe head injuries.

The death has shocked friends and colleagues at Solent Riding Club where she had been chairman for more than 15 years.

Her friend of 38 years Lesley Carter said Lin was in good spirits when she rode off from stables in Little Abshot Road where she kept her pony, Flumpy.

She was wearing a helmet, high visibility vest and safety equipment as she set off on Tuesday afternoon, leaving her dog Benji in her car.

“It is a dreadful shock to us all,” Lesley told the Daily Echo.

“The mood here is of total shock and disbelief. One moment there she is smiling and the next moment we hear the tragic news.

“It was it was a beautiful day to go riding. Something must have startled the pony while they were on the bridleway.

“Lindy was an experienced and dedicated horse woman.”

Current Solent Riding Club chairman Kate Bartlett added: “She was well known and liked by everybody in the club.

Everyone is shocked about the terrible news. She was lovely and bubbly.”

Police say the pony bolted and galloped out of control into Fleet End Road, colliding with the rear nearside of a passing blue Vauxhall Corsa.

The driver, a 53-yearold woman from Locks Heath, was uninjured.

The horse was re-captured and examined by a vet. It sustained only minor injuries and was returned to stables.

Friends said Lindy lived in Titchfield Common and was a carer for her elderly father.

Prior to her retirement, she had taught in a school in Portsmouth.

She continued her connection with schools by helping as a play worker and driver at Brookfield Community College in Sarisbury Green.

Head teacher Ria Allen said: “She was incredibly well-liked, popular with children, parents and staff alike. She was always friendly and held in high regard.”

The tragedy comes two years after Hampshire nurse Victoria Bessey was killed in a freak riding accident in the New Forest.

The 33-year-old, from Totton, was riding between Ashurst and Netley Marsh when she was thrown to the ground.

• Anyone with information about the collision, which happened at 4.15pm on Tuesday, should contact PC James Chapman of Fratton Roads Policing Unit on 101, quoting Operation Celesta.