A MOTHER who broke her back after being thrown off her horse has thanked the air ambulance paramedic who came to her rescue.

Debbie Tomlinson, from Bishop Auckland, was riding her horse, Echo, in Spennymoor on April 14 when the animal started bucking, causing her to fall off. The 44-year-old felt her back break as she hit the concrete but remembers very little about what happened after that.

“There was a big pool of water my horse didn’t want to go through so she decided to buck,”she said.

“I told her off and again she had a massive buck and I landed on her hindquarters. Then she bucked and I went soaring up in the air and I fell and landed in a seating position on the concrete. As soon as I landed I knew I had broken my back because I felt something break.”

Luckily Mrs Tomlinson’s husband, Kev, was walking alongside her and called the emergency services. Both the North East Ambulance Service and the Great North Air Ambulance Service attended and assessed and treated Mrs Tomlinson who had broken l4 vertebrae and her sacrum bone.

The mother-of two, who has been riding since she was six, was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where she received further treatment. She was able to leave hospital the following day and has undergone physiotherapy.

This week, she visited the GNAAS base near Teesside Airport and met Marcus Johnson, one of the charity’s paramedics who treated her.

“The GNAAS kept me calm and talked me through everything and gave me reassurance,” she said. “They are brilliant, an absolute godsend. I don’t remember much about what happened after I fell but I recognised Marcus when I met him. It was lovely to be able to thank him.”

Mrs Tomlinson has not been put off horse riding and hopes to be back in the saddle soon.

She has also teamed up with Joanne Forrest, of Stanners Farm, Spennymoor, to organise an equestrian show to raise funds for the GNAAS. The event will take place on August 26 and will feature ridden and in-hand classes. To find out more or to sponsor a class, follow Stanners Farm Equine and Pet Supplies on Facebook or call 07966-544615.

The GNAAS is a charity and needs to raise £5.1m a year to survive. Visit gnaas.com or call 01325-487263.