A SHOWJUMPING champion was killed in a head-on crash when she braked too sharply on a bend, an inquest heard.

Ella Popely, 18, was only travelling at 37mph in her Fiat 500 at the time of the crash on December 6 last year.

The inquest heard she applied the brakes too forcefully on a bend, causing her to clip an Audi travelling in the opposite direction.

This caused her Fiat to plunge into a verge and overturn.

Miss Popely, who lived with her family in Bolney, was a student at Burgess Hill School for Girls.

She had stayed at her boyfriend’s house the night before in Dorking, Surrey.

He told the inquest they had enjoyed a Chinese meal and had watched a movie the night before.

The Audi driver, Terry Collins, with the help of passers-by managed to get Miss Popely out of the car and put her in the recovery position before calling the emergency services.

The inquest heard that CPR was started but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The coroner was told Miss Popely had a telematic device installed - a black box which records data to help young motorists prove they are good drivers for cheaper insurance.

As a result, the first her mother, Leah, heard of the crash was to be contacted by Hastings Direct to inform her that there had been an incident.

She called her daughter’s boyfriend, Chris Matthews, to tell him and he went to see if her could find her.

He followed ambulances heading down a nearby road where he came across the crash scene.

The coroner heard neither Miss Popely or Mr Collins were on their phones at the time and neither had drugs or alcohol in their blood.

Both of the cars were also found to be in good working condition.

Miss Popely had represented her country at showjumping and had been tipped for future success.

She was the daughter of Horse Of The Year Show-winning showjumper John Popely.

Shortly before her death she had been part of the prestigious Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) group.

Tributes poured in from across the showjumping world after her death. GB showjumper Carian Scudamore said: “Life really isn’t fair. She was an amazing talented young girl who will be greatly missed. Heaven gained a massive star. Shine bright Ella. RIP .”

The inquest, which is being held in Woking, Surrey continues.

A teenage showjumping champion was killed in a horror head-on crash when she braked too sharply on a bend as she drove to college, an inquest heard.

Ella Popely, 18, was behind the wheel when her Fiat collided with an Audi on her way to Burgess Hill Girls’ School in West Sussex in December.

The teenager competed in the Team GB junior riding squad and took part in competitions around the world.

She had been travelling at around 37mph when ishe braked too forcefully before a bend, causing her to clip the Audi travelling in the opposite direction - which in turn resulted in her car hurtling into the verge and overturning.

She had been travelling at around 37mph when she braked too forcefully before a bend, causing her to clip the Audi travelling in the opposite direction - which in turn resulted in her car hurtling into the verge and overturning. A police officer arrived and carried out CPR on her, but she could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene.

As she had a telematic device - a black box installed in the car which records data to help young motorists prove they are good drivers for cheaper insurance - when the crash happened her mother, Leah Popely, was contacted by Hastings Direct to inform her that there had been an incident.