Amy Hilton, 25, was riding her seven year old horse, Archie, on a country lane in Cranbrook, Kent, when the vehicle approached from behind.

The tractor, towing a large trailer, startled Archie and struck his hind leg, causing a severe injury that left him unable to stand. Ms Hilton recalled hearing "suddenly heard a massive acceleration" as she rode along Standen Street.

"I was hacking Archie out as I always do, a couple of times a week. This was my favourite time of the day - I loved hacking Archie. It was our favourite time together," she said

"The noise was so loud, and I thought, 'oh my god, someone is going really fast'."

Despite expecting the vehicle to slow down, it continued to approach.

"I thought they would slow down, but when I looked again, it was getting closer to us."

"I could feel that Archie was getting scared. I was very scared and we were alarmed."

Fearing for her safety, Ms Hilton swiftly dismounted.

Although she escaped unscathed, she described herself as "extremely lucky", believing she could have been killed.

She added: "The tractor and trailer missed me but hit Archie. The back of the trailer ripped his whole tendon off. He couldn't put any pressure on his leg. It was absolutely horrific.

"I was extremely lucky that I wasn't killed."

After Archie was hit, Ms Hilton screamed for help but the driver did not stop and continued on his way.

A passing couple, alerted by the noise, stopped to assist and a police car happened to pass by shortly afterwards, allowing officers to report the incident. With the help of the good Samaritans, lifelong equestrian Ms Hilton managed to get Archie onto a trailer and take him home.

"I don't even know how he did it. He was such a strong horse," she said. However, upon the vet's arrival, the severity of Archie's injuries became clear.

"Within an hour, we had to put him to sleep. There was nothing that could be done."

The traumatic event has forced Ms Hilton to take time off work as she struggles to come to terms with what happened. Living on a farm in Cranbrook, Kent, near the scene of the incident, she comes from a family of horse lovers.

Archie was particularly special to her as she had cared for him since his birth. "It was disgusting. This is the first day I've been able to talk about it without breaking down in tears," she confessed.

"I keep replaying that moment the tractor came - I just knew something was going to go horribly wrong."

She also expressed frustration at the driver's failure to stop.

"Normally, when you're riding a horse, vehicles slow down or even turn their engines off if the horse gets spooked," she said. "But this driver didn't even give me a second.

"I can't believe how reckless they were. This is a huge loss for our whole family and friends."

A police spokesman confirmed that an investigation is underway following a tragic incident where a tractor collided with a horse, leading to its death.

"We were called at 1.40pm on Tuesday to reports of a collision involving a tractor and a horse in Standen Street," they said. "The driver of the tractor left the scene and inquiries into the incident are ongoing."