A 70-year-old woman was taken to hospital with a critical head injury after a freak encounter with a horse at Darkes Forest on Tuesday afternoon.
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The woman was riding on Darkes Forest Road with two friends shortly before the incident, which occurred 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, 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 incident.
The horse was not hurt.
