Mounted Branch: Minor riding accidents not uncommon

Officers from the police Mounted Branch said while minor accidents and injuries were common during training with animals, the death of PC Lennox Mohammed on Thursday was a first for the unit.

Mohammed, 51, died shortly after he hit his head on a tree branch and fell off his horse during training on Tuesday at the Queen's Park Savannah. He had been with the St James-based Mounted Branch for eight years.

An autopsy is expected to be done on Monday.

Speaking with Newsday, one officer said Mohammed was doing a training exercise called "Lady's Chain" in which riders manoeuvre their horses in between trees to test their control of the animal and the horse's ability to move around obstacles.

He said over the years there have been minor accidents with new horses that have not been accustomed to training.

"There have been situations where people have fallen off horses, especially horses that are training for the first time. There will always be situations in which riders fall off the horses because the animal made a sudden movement.

"But we have never had a situation where someone fell off a horse and died from the injuries. But we're still not sure how he (Mohammed) died, because the post-mortem hasn't been done.'

The officer said for the year two officers have gone on injury leave after falling off their horses while training.

Police said the Mounted Branch consists of 60 police officers, 37 of whom are trained riders.