Amy-Jane White was killed in what her mother called a "terrible accident" on Dartmoor on Monday.
Amanda White said her daughter, who worked as a carer and lived in Plympton, suffered a very serious accident at Yelverton.
She was taken to a local hospital with head trauma, where Mrs White said doctors tended to Amy so her family had time to say goodbye to her.
Mrs White said she was keen to trace the doctors so she could thank them for her "last few hours" with her daughter.
More on the tributes to Amy-Jane and other Devon and Cornwall news
Ms White's boyfriend, Daniel Huggins, 31, said: "I have lost a lover, friend and soulmate.
"She died doing her greatest love in her life, riding horses."
One friend said the 23-year-old told her: "If you go on a horse or bike you'll be happy."
A 23-year-old woman whose passion was riding has died in a fall from a horse.