Madonna fell off a horse while riding in the Hamptons on Saturday, and issued a statement claiming that her horse “was startled by paparazzi who jumped out of the bushes.” She suffered only minor injuries and was seen at a local hospital and released. The 50 year-old singer was photographed on the beach the next day and seems to be fine now.

There was only one guy photographing Madonna the day she fell, and he swears that he left before Madonna’s accident because he wasn’t getting good shots of her. The photographer told TMZ that he took off well before Madonna fell, and then returned when he heard that ambulances were called to the scene. He said “”If I had startled the horse, I would have gotten pictures!”

The paparazzi aren’t known for their trustworthiness, and many were willing to believe Madonna’s account that this guy spooked her horse even though he denies it. The only problem is that local police say that no one from Madonna’s side mentioned the paparazzi at all and that it’s not on their report of the incident:

The 50-year-old pop star was asked how she was doing after a night recuperating at pal Gwyneth Paltrow’s estate.

“Better,” she replied.

Madonna’s camp claims her prior encounter with a photographer didn’t go quite so nicely.

Spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg claimed her superstar client was thrown when a photog jumped out of a patch of bushes and startled her horse, sending her flying.

But freelance photographer Thomas Hinton claims he played no role in Madonna’s mishap – a position supported by the Southampton Village Police Department.

Sgt. Herbert Johnson pointed out to TMZ.com Monday that no one mentioned a shutterbug in the police report about the incident. “There is no mention of photographers,” he said. “It’s a matter of spin control that went out of control. If they felt there was something else, they would have written ‘paparazzi’ in the form – if they felt there was a problem.”

Hinton told The News he shot some frames of Madonna riding her horse about 3:50 p.m. Saturday, but took off soon after because he didn’t have a good vantage point.

Hinton returned more than 40 minutes later when he got tipped off that Madonna had had an accident, he says.

“I arrived more than 10 minutes after she fell, and I was shooting from the street,” Hinton said. “I don’t know what [Rosenberg] is talking about.”

Madonna, who was born in Bay City, Mich., and once worked at a Dunkin’ Donuts, has taken pains to reinvent herself as a high-class jodhpur-wearing British countrywoman.

After buying Ashcombe, a 1,200-acre estate in Wiltshire, she had an indoor riding arena built there.
Following a rib-cracking fall in 2005, she got back in the saddle and stepped up her lessons.

Friends say ex-husband Guy Ritchie’s lack of support after that accident was one of the many issues responsible for their eventual split.

Madonna’s recent decision to relocate to New York hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm for becoming an accomplished equestrian.

Last month, she entered a horse competition in Florida under a pseudonym, according to sources. Some suspect she may be reluctant to admit she again lost control of the reins, preferring to blame the paparazzi.

[From The NY Daily News]

It looks like Madonna just got caught blaming someone else for her mishap. It figures that the woman who depends on the paparazzi to drum up interest in her career, revived by sheer will power, stunt dating, and hours of pilates a day, would blame them when something goes wrong. It’s all someone else’s fault when something bad happens to Madonna.

In related Madonna news, her appeal in her adoption bid for Mercy James will be heard on May 4. Madonna is not expected to be there. Not only did Madonna go against Malawian laws that require adoptive parents to live in Malawi for at least 18 months, she’s single now, which also weakens her appeal. Do you think she’ll send any money to Mercy’s family if her bid to adopt the child is ultimately unsuccessful?

Header image is from a series Steve Klein shot of Madonna for W Magazine in 2006. Madonna was at Klein’s home when she fell on Saturday.