The young Newcastle girl, who dreamed of becoming a vet, died on March 24 2009, after her horse Dargo accelerated during the final lesson of her practical riding unit.

Her parents, Juliana and Mark Waugh, previously questioned why their daughter, a novice rider, was placed on a racehorse to begin with.

After her fall, Sarah sustained head and neck injuries, but the manner of her death was less clear, Donna Ward, counsel assisting the coroner, told Glebe Coroner's Court yesterday.

Coroner Sharon Freund was told the 18-year-old had enrolled in the Certificate 2 Agriculture course during a gap year and hoped to start at university the following year. She came to favour Dargo, a four-year-old ex-racehorse raised under the name Snakey Thought and provided by an external supplier, Ms Ward said.

Dubbo TAFE had conducted an assessment into the horse's suitability and deemed it acceptable, she said.

On the final day of training, the instructor and four students took their horses to a paddock and tried trotting in a troop-like formation.

Whether the gate was adequately secured was not yet clear, Ms Ward said.

Sarah was seen to fall behind the line and evidence suggests one of her feet was out of the stirrup. She was then asked to catch up.

“For some reason, evidence suggests Dargo could not be slowed and could not be made to turn,” Ms Ward said. “All witnesses seem to agree the horse accelerated once in the laneway.”

Her fall was obscured by a cloud of dust.

Ms Ward said the coroner would hear evidence that horse-riding was an inherently dangerous activity when the inquest continues.