The partner of a North Yorkshire woman killed in a freak riding accident told today how she died enjoying the sport she loved.

Anya McCracken, 44, of Great Edstone, Kirkbymoorside, was thrown from her horse while riding near Rievaulx.

Miss McCracken, who was head of advisory services at the North York Moors National Park, died in Northallerton's Friarage Hospital without regaining consciousness.

Miss McCracken's partner of 18 years, Alan Smith, said she was with a friend when a pheasant flew up and caused her horse to shy.

"It was just one of those horrible flukey things where everything that could go wrong did in an instant," he said.

Mr Smith said Miss McCracken had ridden since she was a small child. "It was one of the loves of her life."

Although the horse she was riding on Saturday was not hers, she had ridden it on a number of occasions.

"There's no question of anybody being at fault in any way," Mr Smith stressed.

An inquest was opened and adjourned at Malton. John Broadbridge, deputy coroner for the north of the county, said she appeared to have died of head injuries.

Tributes were already pouring in today for Miss McCracken from the colleagues and farmers with whom she spent her working life.

National Park Officer David Arnold-Forster said: "Anya was a wonderful person in every way. It is impossible to overestimate the contribution she made to the North York Moors.

"She was the architect and manager of our main conservation initiatives in recent years. Her loss will be deeply felt in farms and estates across the park which have benefited from her efforts."

Hill farmer and national park authority member Ron Foster, of Heygate Farm, Rosedale Abbey, said: "Her ability to make friends and build up a rapport with farmers and land managers made her unique."

Her funeral service will be at All Saints' Parish Church, Helmsley, at 11.30am on Tuesday.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.