Brodie Morgan suicide: Welsh equestrian & lauded showjumper hangs self after mom tells her to ride pony slower. Teen girl suffered mental health issues inquest hears.
A 16-year-old equestrian teen girl from Wales who had the ‘world at her feet’ hanged herself following a disagreement with her mother about riding too fast on her pony according to an inquest.
Brodie Morgan, of Newport, who also was upset by the deaths of her grandfather and a close friend, took her life in March after her mother, Emma Webb, told her to slow down in the saddle, the Telegraph reported.
‘Brodie was her usual happy self when I told her she was galloping too fast. I said she wouldn’t go to a show at the weekend if she didn’t slow down,’ Webb told the coroner at the inquest in Gwent.
But the ‘talented’ teen showjumper, who had been featured in Horse and Hound magazine in February, told her mom it would be the last time she went riding on her pony, Archie.
After finding the pony still saddled up in the stable later, Webb notified police about her missing daughter, her only child.
‘One girl said they no longer wanted to be friends’
Family friend, Jemma Ellison told the hearing that she found Brodie hanged near the stables in Llantrisant, according to Wales Online. She flagged down two truck drivers who tried CPR, but the girl was declared dead shortly afterward.
The inquest heard that Brodie, who also had a falling out with friends, sent out a message on Snapchat saying, ‘I love you all so much. I want you all to know how much you mean to me.’
The teen, who was described as a ‘happy and bubbly’ student at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic School in Newport, had been having some problems with her friends.
‘One girl said they no longer wanted to be friends — there was no malice. They were having issues, I told Mrs. Webb I would keep an eye on Brodie,’ teacher Laura Floodwater told the hearing in a statement.
A tragic death
Naomi Rees, the assistant coroner, said: ‘While riding her beloved horse she had words with her mother, nothing more than a lot of close relationships encounter.
‘Brodie’s death is a tragic end to a short life which was full of promise, whatever she had chosen to do I’m sure she would have succeeded,’ Rees added.
‘It is clear from her mother’s statement the joy and pride she felt in her daughter. The tragedy is that she had the world at her feet, horses and ponies were her passion and would have been throughout her life.’
Since the tragedy, Webb has launched a campaign to raise money for mental health charities.
