BIKER Gregory Smith died when his 1,000cc Yamaha ploughed at high speed into a horse which crossed his path in strong sun on a North Yorkshire road, an inquest was told.

British Horse Society instructor Caroline Lawson-Tancred and her husband Rupert had been out for their daily ride near their home at Aldborough, Boroughbridge, when tragedy struck on what Mrs Lawson-Tancred described as a beautiful sunny afternoon last May.

She said that as they reached the B6265 Boroughbridge-Green Hammerton road near Aldborough crossroads, riding along a bridlepath, they stopped to let cars go by before crossing to head for a track on the other side. They looked and listened, making sure there was no traffic before beginning to cross side-by-side.

''Halfway across I suddenly saw a bike appear round a bend. I just thought 'Hell, it's going fast' and dug in my heels to get out of the way.''

Mrs Lawson-Tancred said she initially believed the motorcycle would pass them safety.

''Suddenly it changed and I thought 'Oh my God, it's going to hit us. My horse leapt forward and took off with me. At the same moment there was a clattering and banging.''

Her terrified horse went ''flat-out'' down the road and when she regained control she found her husband walking towards her.

Coroner Geoff Fell heard that Mr Lawson-Tancred's horse had been struck by Mr Smith, 42, of Ambrose Road, Ripon, and later had to be put down.

Mrs Lawson-Tancred said: ''I don't think there is anything we could have done to make this not happen and it breaks my heart because there was all this room behind us. It could have been a child on a pony or a slow-moving farm vehicle. It is not a road to be speeding on. It was tragic and awful.''

A police reconstruction concluded that Mr Smith was travelling at 68-70mph ''at the very bare minimum'' as he rode round a bend on the approach to the horses.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Fell said the sun, which was low in the sky and almost straight ahead of Mr Smith, had undoubtedly played a part in the tragedy.

''He never saw the horses, or if he did it was not until it was too late to avoid a collision.''

Updated: 12:04 Thursday, December 19, 2002