1913 Epsom Derby stirrup. Davison was knocked to the ground; some reports say she was kicked in the head by Anmer, but the surgeon who operated on Davison stated that "I could find no trace of her having been kicked by a horse". The event was captured on three news cameras. Davison's purpose in attending the Derby and walking onto the course is unclear. She did not discuss her plans with anyone or leave a note. Several theories have been suggested, including that she intended to cross the track, believing that all horses had passed; that she wanted to pull down the King's
Emily Davison Channel 4 documentary determined that Davison was closer to the start of the bend than had been previously assumed, and would have had a better view of the oncoming horses. The contemporary news media were largely unsympathetic to Davison, and many publications "questioned her sanity and characterised her actions as suicidal". "The Pall Mall Gazette" said it had "pity for the dementia which led an unfortunate woman to seek a grotesque and meaningless kind of 'martyrdom' ", while "The Daily Express" described Davison as "A well-known malignant suffragette, ... [who] has a long record of convictions for complicity in suffragette