An accident in which a groom was thrown off a polo pony, leaving her wheelchair bound, would have been foreseeable by an experienced horseman, the High Court heard.

Mr Justice Sullivan was hearing evidence on the second day of a hearing in which 27-year-old Rebecca Jolliff is seeking substantial damages from the Kirtlington Park Polo School.

Miss Jolliff, of The Orchard, Merton, near Bicester, was warming up a horse, named Alice, when it reared up on its hind legs and threw her in June 1995. Her back broke in the fall. She told the court she was asked to "trot up" the pony despite its unpredictable behaviour and her suspicions that it might be lame. She wept as she described how Alice froze to the spot before rearing up, making it impossible for her to hang on.

The school denies all liability for the accident.

Riding expert James Machie told the court Alice could have reacted in a number of ways when urged to move forward by Miss Jolliffe, including rearing. The risk of rearing, he said, would have been "foreseeable to an experienced horseman". The court has heard how Alice was in a "fizzy" mood at the prospect of taking part in a polo match.

Another expert, Richard Meade, said that if Alice had already reared up twice as Miss Jolliff claims, "I believe she should not have been asked to ride the horse forward".

The hearing continues.