00:00 We are very sad to announce that equestrian rider Hannah Surfass dies at age 15 following
00:05 fall in competition for his last video.
00:08 Watch the video till end
00:09 Junior rider Hannah Surfass, 15, died suddenly on Sunday while competing in an event at Fox
00:15 Leaf Farm in Venice when her horse tripped and fell.
00:18 The horse had just landed successfully and took a few steps to the next hurdle when it
00:22 planted its left front hoof, according to a report from the Sarasota County Sheriff's
00:27 Office.
00:28 It caused the horse to lean down significantly toward its left front hoof.
00:31 This action caused the rider to then topple forward and off the horse in the same direction
00:36 and onto the ground, the report said.
00:37 The horse then continued to fall in the same direction falling over and onto the rider's
00:42 head on the ground.
00:43 First aid was rendered by Fox Leaf Farm personnel and others until the Sarasota County Fire
00:47 Rescue responded.
00:49 Surfass was taken to the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Venice campus, where she was later
00:53 pronounced dead.
00:55 Surfass always had a passion for horses and has been around them her entire life with
00:59 her older sister riding recreationally, she said in a March 2023 profile by Ben Baugh
01:04 in the World Equestrian Center magazine.
01:07 She competed in gymnastics until the fourth grade when her mother switched her to riding
01:11 and showing horses.
01:12 The disciplined rider would wake up on her own every day at 6.30am to take care of animals
01:17 on her family farm in Webster and practice riding before starting her homeschooling work.
01:22 She participated in extracurriculars in the Sumter County School District and was a member
01:27 of the Wildwood Middle High School track team.
01:29 Hannah tumbled to the ground, and her horse fell over the same way, landing atop her in
01:34 an accident that killed her.
01:35 Hannah Surfass guided her horse into its sixth jump at a competition over the weekend.
01:40 The 15-year-old rider and her horse landed the jump, meaning they were about halfway
01:44 done with the course in Venice, Florida.
01:47 But after trotting a few steps farther, the horse tripped.
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