A talented teenage horsewoman's dreams are in tatters after a car crashed into her on a Cotswolds village lane – leaving her elite prizewinning horse dead.
asserted
car → crash → horse
Tinks Walker, 17, a great hope for British equestrian sports, went headfirst through the car's windscreen and came round to find her star gelding, Benny, dying in the road.
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gelding → go → road
The accident shattered the youngster's hopes of selection for Great Britain in the Eventing European Championships for Young Riders next year.
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accident → shatter → Riders
Now her family want justice after Wiltshire Police decided not to prosecute the driver - despite concluding there was sufficient evidence.
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Police → want → driver
The family have launched their own legal proceedings for the injuries to Tinks and for the value of 10-year-old Benny, said to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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family → launch → pounds
'He was the equine equivalent of an Olympian,' said Tinks, who has been riding horses since she was a toddler.
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she → say → horses
Tinks Walker and Benny riding together.
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Walker → rid → ?
He was a star horse who had previously been ridden by Olympic champion Laura Collett and was passed to Tinks to develop a new partnership
Tinks was devastated by the loss of Benny, the extraordinary eventing horse whom she described as her best friend
The 17-year-old, seen here with another horse, has been riding since she was a toddler and rises at 4am to fit in her A Level studies with training
On April 2 this year, Tinks took the thoroughbred, Killossery Kaptain - known as Benny - out for an early morning ride with Lily, a two-star event horse, being 'led' by them.
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Tinks → ride → them
As they walked along a country lane about a mile from her family home, near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, she saw a car 'flying around the curve in the road ahead of me', she told police.
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she → walk → police
She pulled Benny and Lily onto a grass verge but the approaching car did not slow down, she said.
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she → pull → verge
'This made me panic...seeing the car barrelling directly towards me.
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car → make → me
I thought to myself "has she seen me or not?".
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she → think → me
I felt totally powerless and the next thing was I felt an impact.
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I → feel → impact
I woke up on the floor.
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I → wake → floor
It felt like I had been beaten up.
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I → feel → ?
Her account to police continued: 'I saw Benny lying on the floor.
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Benny → continue → floor
Benny did try and get up once - but struggled to do so and ultimately fell back down to the floor.
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Benny → try → floor
He did not try and stand up again.
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He → try → ?
'
Benny was a four-star competition horse previously ridden by Team GB double Olympic gold medal winner Laura Collett, the current European Eventing Champion.
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Benny → ride → Collett
It was decided to pass him to Tinks to develop a next-generation partnership for Team GB.
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It → decide → GB
The A Level pupil trained with him every day, often rising at 4am to fit in her studies.
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pupil → train → studies
Benny's injuries from the crash were so severe, he was put down at the roadside by a vet.
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he → put → vet
Tinks riding Benny at Tweseldown Horse Trials on March 15, 2026
Benny was 'the kindest horse you would ever come across', said Tinks's mother Netia Walker.
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mother → rid → March
The four-star eventing horse had to be euthanised at the scene of the accident
Prizewinner Benny with his previous owner, the double Olympic gold medal champion Laura Collett
Tinks told the Mail: 'It was awful.
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It → evente → Mail
There was nothing I could do.
uncertain
I → be → ?
Every day I've thought about it.
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I → think → it
When I close my eyes, I see it happening.
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it → close → eyes
He taught me things that no other horse ever had.
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horse → teach → that
He taught me that making mistakes was okay.'
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making → teach → mistakes
Tinks's mother, Netia Walker, added: 'He was the Brad Pitt of horses to us.
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He → add → us
He came here and was worshipped.
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He → come → ?
He was the kindest horse you would ever come across.
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you → come → ?
'My daughter could have been killed, we have lost her best horse and have another one that is so traumatised we can't ride her on the roads.'
After a five-month inquiry, Wiltshire Police wrote to Tinks and said that while 'there is sufficient evidence to bring a prosecution against the alleged offending driver', the woman had instead been offered a 'safe and considerate driving course' to 're-educate' her.
uncertain
woman → kill → her
The decision has left the family furious.
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decision → leave → family
Now Tinks's solicitor Cathryn Godfrey, of Irwin Mitchell, has begun the process of suing the driver.
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solicitor → begin → driver
Another solicitor, Hannah Bradley, of Aria Grace Law, is acting for the owners of Benny, one of whom is Tinks's grandmother.
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one → act → whom
She is suing over the loss of the prizewinning thoroughbred, said by an independent equine valuer to have been worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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She → sue → pounds
Fi Rutland, the other co-owner of Benny, said: 'The accident has devastated all of us.
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accident → say → us
I have lost my pride-and-joy, it has broken all our hearts, but more importantly it has shattered a talented young girl's dreams and aspirations.
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it → lose → dreams
The courage she has shown is awe-inspiring.'
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she → show → ?
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
