Young rider crushed by horse still in coma

An Australian teenager is in an induced coma in a New South Wales hospital after being crushed by her horse while competing at a gymkhana at Sutton Forest in the Southern Highlands late on Saturday.

The 14-year-old girl, was unconscious for 35 minutes when she fell from her horse, who then rolled on her. The girl is reported to have a fractured skull, and paramedics say her riding helmet saved her from even more serious injury.

She was given a general anaesthetic by the doctor and placed on a ventilator to control her breathing. She was flown, along with her mother, to the Westmead Children's Hospital where she was in a serious but stable condition on arrival.