Horse rider who died at international event ‘was a beautiful woman’ – husband

Georgie Campbell, 36, died after falling at a fence during the International Horse Trials in Devon.

Georgie Campbell (Alamy/PA)

A professional horse rider who died while competing at an equestrian event in Devon was a “strong, beautiful, phenomenal woman”, her husband has said.

Georgie Campbell, 36, died after falling at a fence during the International Horse Trials on Sunday.

In a post on a social media page for Team Campbell Eventing, Jesse Campbell shared an image of his wife with the caption: “I love you so, so much.”

He added: “This is my favorite photo of my beautiful wife. It’s from our wedding day in 2021 and it was the best day ever. People will talk about G’s smile, and it was incredible—it would make you feel like you were the center of the universe.

“But what I love about this photo is how it captures her strength. She was a strong, beautiful, phenomenal woman who just loved everything and everyone.

“Working in the equestrian world is not an easy life; there are a lot of knocks and dark days. But G would navigate this by throwing so much joy and love at every situation. She would get as much joy from having a Greggs tea on the way home from the gallops as she would teaching a client in the pouring rain or jumping and galloping around biggest courses in the world. It was just incredible to be at your side and feel this energy.

“I’m so proud to be your husband.

“Rest in peace, my beautiful girl.”

Campbell was initially a top-level show rider before turning to eventing.

She represented Great Britain numerous times on Nations Cup teams and appeared at several five-star events, the highest recognised level of eventing.

In an Equine America interview last year, she cited winning the 4* Long in 2022 at Ligniers on Global Quest as a career highlight.

She married fellow equestrian Jesse, a member of the New Zealand team for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, in December 2020.

The pair joined personal and professional forces to create Team Campbell Eventing.