A woman says she suffered a concussion when a speaker toppled onto her at the RCMP Musical Ride over the weekend, prompting an apology from the event’s organizers.

The ride saw a troop of 32 Mounties and their horses performing drills and cavalry figures for hundreds of people gathered at Royal Roads University on Sunday, in celebration of Canada 150.

Kathy, who did not want her last name used, said she was sitting in a lawn chair beside a roughly six-foot-tall speaker and stand just before the event began.

That’s when she said it suddenly crashed down onto her, striking her in the head and causing her to bite down hard on her tongue.

“I was in total shock. I didn’t know what happened, I was in excruciating pain,” she said.

Kathy said she was slipping in and out of consciousness while paramedics made their way into the crowds to transport her out by stretcher, which took about 35 to 40 minutes from the time she was struck.

Her husband, Wayne, said he was also struck by the falling speaker and suffered a goose egg while his wife bore the brunt of the damage.

When she arrived in hospital, she said doctors performed an MRI that confirmed she was concussed in addition to the many bumps and bruises she suffered.

“I am very lucky to be alive, because there was a little boy beside me who could have easily been killed,” she said. “It was just scary to think how, if that speaker hit me at a slightly different angle, it could’ve been fatal. That’s the part that scares me.”

While the husband and wife recover from the frightening ordeal, they say they hope sharing their story can help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

The Victoria Military Music Festival Society, which organized the event, confirmed the woman had been struck and said it was looking into why it happened.

“We are actively discussing the incident with our partners, and trying to determine exactly what happened that lead to the injury,” it said. “Again, we are so very sorry that this happened during what was meant to be an afternoon of enjoyment and music for the community.”

Kathy confirmed the society had reached out to her to express its sympathies and wishes for a full recovery.

The RCMP’s E Division in Surrey referred requests for comment to the RCMP’s national office, which handles inquiries about the Musical Ride.