A hysterical carriage horse caused chaos in the Bermuda Athletic Association car park off Woodlands Road on Tuesday afternoon after becoming ?spooked out? by a schoolboy opening an umbrella.

Bucking wildly, carriage driver Hobby Charles tried in vain to bring the animal, named Jody, under control ? before he was flung out of the carriage as the horse crashed into parked car.

No passengers were in the carriage at the time.

Detached from the carriage but still connected to the harness, the horse then tore off across BAA field, before hurdling the fence at the northern end of the field and landing in a ditch.

With dozens of bystanders looking on, including a group of amazed schoolchildren, firefighters arrived and attempted, with the help of Mr. Charles and others, to retrieve the petrified horse from the muddy ditch.

After a few minutes the horse calmed down and was led away to safety by his owner.

Speaking to in the aftermath of the incident, a mud-splattered Mr. Charles ? who suffered only minor scratches and a ripped shirt ? said the situation had looked at lot worse than it was.

?I was just on my way home and turning around in the car park when the boy opened an umbrella and upset her,? he said.

?She knocked into the car and I fell out ? but its not such a big deal. It has happened before and it is just the nature of the business when you are dealing with horses. I used to ride in the rodeo and I can tell you I?ve been involved in worse incidents.?

The damaged car was a virtually brand-new white Opel Astra, owned by a employee.