A female horse rider, 50-year-old Jennie Psaila of Sliema, died this morning when she fell off a horse in Maghtab, the police said.

The incident happened at 8 a.m. while she was in a field. The horse for some reason bolted and the woman fell off and died on the spot.

Mrs Psaila is the wife of former Malta football coach Pippo Psaila. They have two children.

Well known horseman Dunstan Vella described Mrs Psaila as a keen horsewoman who was very dynamic and helped to promote the sports. She had helped make possible Malta's membership of the Federation Equestre Internationale.

She was a late starter in horse riding but took the sport very seriously and trained every day in Maghtab. She had been learning dressage and show jumping.

"She was very courageous but never did anything stupid," Mr Vella said.

Sources said this had been Mrs Psaila's third horse. Her first had to be put down and the second was hit by a truck.

The incident was the third of its kind this year, and the most serious.

On February 1, Sarah Borg, 22, was critically injured when she was thrown off her horse at the Marsa racetrack. Her condition has since considerably improved.

On March 5, a 23-year-old female jockey from Pieta was critically injured when she fell off her horse at Wied is-Sewda, Qormi.

The latest incident was the second involving sports in one week following the death on Thursday of cyclist Cliff Micallef, who was hit by a car on the coast road in Bahar ic-Caghaq.

The Nationalist Party, the Labour Party and the Malta Sports Council were among organisations which expressed their condolences.