A 70-year-old woman has been rushed to hospital with a critical head injury after a freak encounter with a horse at Darkes Forest Tuesday afternoon.
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The woman was riding on Darkes Forest Road with two friends shortly before the accident, about 12.40pm.
The trio stopped for a rest and had dismounted when one of the horses unexpectedly lost its footing and fell, knocking the woman to the ground.
She hit her head and lost consciousness and could not be roused more than an hour later, NSW Ambulance Illawarra district officer Inspector Terry Morrow said.
"Normally if someone's knocked out they regain consciousness after a number of minutes, however on this occasion the lady has not regained consciousness for a considerable period of time," he said.
"That's why we've brought in [the ambulance rescue chopper]."
The woman was airlifted to St George Hospital about 2pm in a serious but stable condition.
She was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
The horse was unharmed.