Rider escapes drowning

A West Coast woman had to fight for her life when she fell from her horse and was washed out to sea in a rip.

Jessie Scott, 29, of Greymouth, was riding with a friend on a beach near Greymouth on Saturday when a large wave broke, taking the sand from under the feet of her horse Kisses, dumping her in the water.

"One minute I was sitting on the sand and the next minute I was fighting for my life." She managed to swim past the breakers, then "relaxed and let the waves carry me to shore".

A passerby pulled her in.

www.herald.co.nz