Talented showjumper, 16, killed herself, inquest hears 

A talented teenage showjumper with ‘the world at her feet’ killed herself following an argument with her mother, an inquest has heard.

Brodie Morgan, 16, from Newport, Wales, who featured in Horse and Hound magazine last month and was tipped as a future star of the sport, was reported missing to police after her mother found her pony in a stable saddled up.

The schoolgirl was found hanged in a wooded area near Llantrisant, South Wales, on March 10. 

Brodie had fallen out with friends in school before having an argument with her mother for riding her ‘beloved’ pony Archie too fast before her death, the hearing was told.

Brodie Morgan, 16, from Newport, Wales, was found dead near Llantrisant, South Wales, on March 10

Her mother Emma Webb told the hearing: ‘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.’

Following the disagreement Brodie told her mother it was the last time she was going to ride Archie who she had a special bond with. 

An inquest at Gwent Coroners’ Court heard Brodie had sent a Snapchat message to her friends on the night of March 10 saying: ‘I love you all so much. I want you all to know how much you mean to me.’            

Brodie was a ‘happy and bubbly’ pupil at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic School in Newport where she was predicted to get ‘amazing results’ in her GCSEs last summer. 

But the inquest heard she was experiencing problems with a group of pupils in school who were spoken to about the fall out.

Form teacher Laura Floodwater told the hearing in a written statement: ‘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.’  

The court heard Brodie had recently lost her grandfather and a close friend in 2019.

Assistant Gwent Coroner Naomi Rees 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.

‘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.’  

The schoolgirl featured in Horse and Hound magazine and was tipped as a future star of the sport

Brodie was described as a ‘happy and bubbly’ pupil at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic School in Newport

Brodie’s success with her pony appeared in February’s Horse and hound magazine.

The article told how the teenager was ‘already a seasoned businesswoman’ running a small equestrian services company.

She told the magazine: ‘It all started after I did special plaits on my pony at a show and people started asking me if i could do theirs.

‘I get most of my business in the summer at pony premier shows and from the Welsh pony team.’

Brodie’s mother has raised thousands of pounds for mental health charities through the sale of hooded jackets with ‘Do it for Brodie’ emblazoned on the back.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.