A TEENAGE stable girl was killed when she was thrown from her bolting horse.

Rebecca Davies, aged 19, from Atherton, was dragged along the ground after she had fallen from the racehorse and trapped her foot in the stirrup.

Rebecca, a graduate of the British Racing School, was dragged for a quarter of a mile across the Lincolnshire countryside by the galloping horse and suffered fatal head injuries.

Rebecca will be "hugely missed", her friends said today.

The accident happened yesterday morning when she was out riding in Willoughton, near Gainsborough.

She was exercising one of the 70 horses stabled at the yard where she worked as a trainer.

Racehorse trainer James Given, who owns the racing yard where Rebecca had worked since January, flew back from Ireland on hearing of the tragedy.

Rebecca's mother travelled to Lincolnshire last night to formally identify her.

Today Mr Given said that everyone was "absolutely shattered" by her death and described her as a "model pupil." He added: "She was a great friend to everybody in the yard. Everyone liked her and she is hugely missed.

"People are still absolutely shattere . She was just one of the nicest people you could wish to meet.

"She loved the horses and it showed in the way she looked after them."

The stable's two runners at a Newmarket meeting were withdrawn as a mark of respect.

Lincolnshire Police said they were treating the death as a tragic accident and expected an inquest to be opened tomorrow.