"I CAN'T believe it - to lead from the front and win - it's unreal," said an emotional Lucinda Fredericks after winning the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials with Headley Britannia last weekend.

After second placed Winsome Adante took two poles out, the mare - the first to win Badminton for 56 years - had two fences in hand. Despite some heart-stopping moments she used just one life to remain at the top of the leaderboard and win her second four-star event and produce a special Burghley/Badminton back-to-back.

"The pressure got to me," admitted British born and bred Lucinda who now rides for Australia. "I knew she'd be difficult today and I had a few lucky moments out there but so what? She jumped and that is what counts."

A clear round brought the German combination of Andreas Dibowski and the mare FRH Serve Well, fourth after a clear round cross-country, up to second place to produce another unique Badminton result - never before have mares taken the one-two. The daughter of Hanoverian sire Sherlock Holmes added nothing to her dressage score.

The dream was so near, for American Badminton first-timers Kim Severson but so far, after 'Dan' kicked out two poles down the final treble. The eight faults dropped them one place to finish in third place.

Australian Matt Ryan, who has moved his yard from Herefordshire to Abergavenny with wife Marie, and Bonza Katoomba, 18th after dressage, found themselves moving up 12 places after the good-looking British bred produced a clean sheet over the fences.

Lord Killinghurst ridden by Andrew Nicholson, who now has the unique record of 26 completions under his belt, once again found himself in the top six moving up to fifth above Hinrich Romeike and Marius Voight-Logistik. Andrew also produced the 11 year old Henry Tankerville, like the winner sired by the British stallion Jumbo, to eighth place.

In a cosmopolitan result Sarah Cohen and Hide and Seek II were the Best of British while British veterans Jeanette Brakewell ended a particularly emotional, and final Badminton in 14th place and put themselves in the record books for the greatest number of completions, seven, for one combination.