A FAMILY man from Broxton died instantly after falling from his horse while riding with the Cheshire Hunt.

It is thought brewery chairman Richard Gilchrist, 57, of Broxton, a married father of two, broke his neck after his horse tripped jumping a hedge in Hetherson Green, Malpas, on Saturday.

Cheshire hunt secretary Simon Ashworth, a family friend, said: “Ricky’s life revolved around hunting, his whole family hunted as a group. He will be missed by everyone.

“We cannot say yet exactly what happened as there is to be a post mortem.”

Richard Gilchrist was married to Catherine and had two young daughters Lucy and Annabel. He was chairman of Warrington based Burtonwood Brewery and Oxfordshire’s Hook Norton Brewery.

Pauline Barlow, chairwoman of the Cheshire Hunt, said: “In his many seasons hunting he acted as a hunt committee member, treasurer of the Point to Point, chairman of the Horse Club, founder trustee of the Jorrocks Club and member of the Tarporley Hunt Club.”

A Hook Norton Brewery spokesperson said: “Richard had been a director of Hook Norton since 1977 and was appointed chairman in 2005. The company extends its deepest sympathy to his wife Catherine, two daughters and all the family.”

North West Ambulance Service spokesperson Tracey Leung said: “We received a call at about 12.11pm, a male had fallen off a horse and was taken to the Countess of Chester hospital. An ambulance, a community search responder and a rapid response vehicle attended.”