Fredericks wins Badminton title

It was Frederick's seventh Badminton appearance

Burghley winners Lucinda Fredericks and Headley Britannia completed a rare double by triumphing in the Badminton Horse Trials on Sunday.

Fredericks, 41, knocked down a pole in the show jumping but edged home by two penalties from Germany's Andreas Dibowski on FRH Serve Well.

British-born Fredericks, who now represents Australia, had led the event since the first day's dressage.

Ninth-placed Sarah Cohen was the only Briton in the top 12 finishers.

Fredericks, who switched national allegiance in 2002 after marrying Australian rider Clayton Fredericks, had never finished higher than sixth in six previous appearances at Badminton.

"She deserved it," said the winner in tribute to her 15.3 hands-high 14-year-old mare.

These were freak conditions for which we were not prepared Badminton director Hugh Thomas on the ground problem

"She was more difficult to ride on the top of the ground, that's why I used a different bit with more control for the show jumping. She just ran on."

In contrast to the duo's win at Burghley last September, Fredericks and Headley Britannia had to withstand heavy pressure at Badminton, with only one fence in hand in the closing moments.

When Britannia made a mistake, Fredericks had nothing left to gamble with and could have handed victory to Dibowski if another rail dropped.

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American Kim Severson, who had been just 0.2 penalties adrift of the leader going into the show jumping phase, lost her chance to overtake when her British-bred Winsome Adante faulted twice at the penultimate fence and dropped to third.

Leicestershire rider Cohen would have been fourth on Hide and Seek II but made an error in the show jumping.

After 22 withdrawals before Saturday's cross country due to hard ground, Badminton's director and course designer Hugh Thomas admitted that he was going to "extend our contingency planning to cope in the future".

"These were freak conditions for which we were not prepared," he said.