Top NZ horse trainer pleads guilty over young rider's fall which left her a quadriplegic

Stephen McKee will be sentenced in the Auckland District Court in February. Photo / Brett Phibbs

One of New Zealand's top horse trainers has pleaded guilty after being prosecuted by WorkSafe after a young female jockey was left a quadriplegic.

Stephen McKee pleaded guilty to one charge of exposing an individual to risk of serious harm or death.

He will be sentenced in the Auckland District Court in February.

In November 2016, jockey Sophia Malthus was left a quadriplegic after the then 19-year-old came off her horse at a stable near Ardmore in Auckland

The horse was spooked during a practice session and Malthus, now 21, was flung into a fence.

She was in intensive care for the following six days and spent a further 12 weeks in a spinal unit and nine months in a residential rehab.

Malthus has been left with almost no sensation or motor skills from the collarbone down.

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