A YOUNG girl who nearly died after falling from a horse has been presented with an award for outstanding bravery.

Bethany Smalley and a friend were galloping through a field close to Waddington Farm, Tockholes, last September when the horse she was on stopped suddenly and she fell off.

Doctors told her parents Christine, 48, and Paul, 42, that she would have hit the ground with the same force as if she had been in a high-impact car crash.

She has become the first person to be awarded the Phyllis Buckley Memorial Award by Ribble Valley Riding Club.

The trophy was bought by committee member Carol Hanley in memory of her mother.

Christine, of Saint Helier Close, Blackburn, said: "It was really frightening when it happened but she has amazed us with how brave she has been."

Bethany was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary where she was operated on for damage to her spleen but her condition deteriorated and she was taken to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, where she was kept in intensive care for three days.

She had suffered damage to her kidney, which has since repaired itself, and fluid to her lungs which required another operation.

After six weeks in hospital she returned home but could not return to St Bede's High School, Blackburn, for several more weeks.

Bethany was told she would not ride for 12 months but was back in the saddle just over two months after returning home.

The first thing she said when she woke in the hospital was: "When will I ride again?".

Since then she has won two second prizes in Ribble Valley competitions and represented the area in the Classics and Festival of Champions competitions.

Kathryn Walsh, of Ribble Valley Riding Club, said: "At first we didn't know what to award the trophy for but when we heard about Bethany we decided it would be nice to award it for outstanding achievement each season.

"Bethany is a prime example and has shown great courage."

Bethany, who was also nominated for a Lancashire Evening Telegraph Pride of East Lancashire Child of Courage Award, still suffers back pain because she has a scar from her breast bone to three inches below her navel, which prevents her sitting fully upright.

She has returned to hospital four times since the fall, to monitor the fluid on her lungs, which has now cleared. She will undergo further surgery on November 25 when a plastic surgeon will try to minimise the scar caused when her spleen was operated on.