A nine-year-old girl died

4 April 2016 • 7:18pm A nine-year-old girl riding a pony with the Cotswold Hunt suffered fatal injuries after being kicked by a horse.
Bonamie Armitage, known as ‘Bonnie’, was riding close her Shetland pony, Lindsay, behind a larger horse which kicked out, striking the child in the chest, during the last hunt of the season.
Bonnie, who was described by her headteacher as “bright, kind and full of joy”, was a pupil at St Hugh's preparatory school in Faringdon, Oxfordshire.
Her father Nick Armitage, 40, is a deputy head at the school and mother, Polly, is a professional flautist.
Polly's father, the Reverend Canon Andrew Bowden, retired in 2008 after serving the Cotswolds for more than 30 years.
On Monday night the family said in a statement: "Our daughter, Bonnie, was a wonderful person. She was a beautiful, vivacious and compassionate girl, who touched the hearts of everyone who knew her.
"She loved riding, and was never happier than when with her Shetland pony, Lindsay.
"We will miss her more than we can say, and we greatly value the prayers of so many of our friends."
Mrs Armitage said the horse Lindsay wasn't injured and added "it wasn't the horse's fault in any way".
She said: "I don't want anyone to be blamed for this. It was no one's fault. It was just a tragic accident."
Bonnie was riding her Shetland pony, Lindsay Credit: The Armitage Family
Andrew Nott, headmaster of St. Hugh's, said: "The entire school community was devastated to learn of the tragic death of one of our pupils, Bonnie Armitage, following a riding accident on Saturday.
"Bonnie, the daughter of a member of our staff, was a truly lovely, talented girl who was bright, kind, compassionate and full of joy.
"Our love, thoughts and prayers are with her parents, Nick and Polly, and siblings Zach and Mamie at this profoundly difficult time."
"The girl suffered serious injuries and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal hospital by air ambulance where she sadly died"
Gloucestershire Police spokesman
A spokesman for the Miserden Park Estate said Bonnie died after she was kicked in the chest by another horse.
“The Cotswold Hunt were meeting here for the last meet of the season,” the spokesman said.
“It wasn't the horse that got kicked, it was her.
"The girl was knocked in the chest by another horse and the air ambulance came.
""There were a lot of people there. The last hunt of the season attracts a lot of people. It would have been 30 or 40 people.
"It's just a tragic accident. People in the village are very shaken up about it. It's such a terrible thing to happen to a young person."
Cotswold Hunt has no minimum age specified on its website - but charges £15 a head for children aged "up to and including 15" to take part.
James Chamberlain, a Master of the Cotswold Hunt, which was established in 1858, expressed his sorrow at the tragedy and said the child who died had been wearing “all the correct equipment”.
“Our hearts go out to the family and all our thoughts are with them,” said Mr Chamberlain.
“I know the parents will want peace to try to come to terms with this tragedy.
“We will be able to say more at a later stage but the child was absolutely wearing all the correct equipment.”
Bonnie played the violin and was keen hockey player and cross-country runner at her school, where her father also teaches the sports teams.
Girl, nine, dies after horse-riding accident
Mr and Mrs Armitage have a son Zach, aged 11, who is also pupil at same school, and a younger daughter Mamie, five.
Mr Armitage worked in advertising before retraining as a teacher at Cambridge University.
Emergency services were called to Miserden in Gloucestershire
He taught at Beaudesert School in Minchinhampton, Glos., for eight years before joining 300-pupil St Hugh's in 2014, where fees are £5,960 a term.
Paramedics were called to a farm in Miserden, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, at about 11.25am on Saturday.
Bonnie was airlifted to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Gloucester, where she later died.
It was understood she had been riding at the hunt with her family but was rising alongside a friend’s family when the accident took place.
One resident at Miserden said: “The feeling around the village is that it is just a terribly, terribly tragic, sad event.
"It is just awful when somebody so young is involved.
"The little girl's grandparents are well known in the area and they are well respected.
“It is such a tragedy for the family.
"It is particularly sad at this moment in time for the family because they have experienced another recent bereavement in the past couple of weeks."
Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It was a freak accident. It's really sad."
A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police confirmed that the incident was not being treated as suspicious.
"A nine-year-old girl was taking part in an organised event when she was involved in an incident involving a horse,” a spokesman said.
"The girl suffered serious injuries and was taken to Gloucestershire Royal hospital by air ambulance where she sadly died.
"The coroner and the child's family have been informed."
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust confirmed they sent a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance crew and a doctor to the scene, followed by Wiltshire Air Ambulance.