Woman hospitalized after falling off horse during Swallows Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano

A woman was hospitalized after taking a tumble off a horse in a staging area at the Swallows Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano Saturday, March 23, authorities said.

About 10 a.m., deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and paramedics with the Orange County Fire Authority were called out to the parade route to assist a woman who had hit her head after falling off the horse, sheriff’s Lt. Joe Cope said.

“There was a rider on a horse in a staging area getting ready to go out into the parade route when the horse was startled,” Cope said.

The horse ran a short distance, but was corralled by others along the parade route, Cope said.

The woman was treated on scene and taken to a trauma center, which is standard protocol for paramedics when dealing with a patient who falls off a horse, OCFA Capt. Cameron Rossman said.

The extent of the woman’s injuries was not immediately known.