The paparazzo blamed for spooking Madonna's horse and sending the Material Mom tumbling to the ground this weekend says he is innocent.

"I arrived more than 10 minutes after the accident happened," snapper Thomas Hinton told TheCelebrityTruth.com website Monday.

Madonna, 50, fell from the horse while riding Saturday at a friend's mansion in the ultra-exclusive Hamptons region outside New York.

She suffered minor bruises, according to her spokeswoman, and was reported to be resting at actress friend Gwyneth Paltrow's home in the area.

According to the spokeswoman, "the accident occurred when the horse Madonna was riding was startled by paparazzi who jumped out of the bushes."

But Hinton -- who snapped the sole picture of the fallen entertainer sitting on the sand arena surrounded by aides -- said: "I am certain there were no other photographers there before me."

Earlier in the day Hinton had taken pictures of Madonna, who was wearing a black riding helmet, black boots and a dark ensemble of jodhpurs and jacket, as she rode a bay horse in the arena. The New York Post published the exclusive shots.

Police in the area appeared to be siding with the photographer, celebrity gossip site TMZ reported.

TMZ quoted Sergeant Herbert Johnson saying: "There is no mention of photographers. 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."

Source: AFP