CHESTER, N.H. (AP) – A Massachusetts man riding in a horse show in Chester was killed when his horse threw him into a stone wall.

William Booth, of Dover, was competing in a cross-country event Sunday with about 15 to 20 other riders at Senator Bell Farm.

Booth, who was about 50, was thrown a bit about 12:20 p.m. when his horse stopped suddenly as it approached a stone wall jump in the woods. Booth pitched forward into the wall.

Friends said Booth was an experienced rider who frequently participated in hunts. He was wearing a helmet.

AP-ES-08-30-04 0733EDT