Lucinda Fredericks has now confirmed the details of the incident on Tuesday 1st April which resulted in the loss of her superstar mare, Headley Britannia
“Brit was jumping a small oxer (1 meter) on flat, grassy ground when she just ‘crumbled’ upon landing. Her rider, student fell with Brit, who did not get up immediately, Alex, Lucinda’s student who was riding Brit was fine. Lucinda had been schooling a younger horse ahead of Brit and I could see there was something wrong right away. There was a slightly unusual lump on the upper part of Brit’s leg, but there was no bleeding.”
Hattie Lawrence, BVSc, MRCVS, of Valley Equine Hospital in Lambourn, England, confirmed onsite that the 21-year-old mare had fractured her left radius (forearm) bone. The horse was humanely euthanized.
Brit was still in full work but at a much lower level and was aiming to compete again at Express Eventing this year which she won in 2013. She was perfectly fit and still looked like a million dollars as many would confirm when Lucinda and Brit wowed the crowds at her demo lectures at Your Horse Live late last year, Brit just loved doing what she did. Just before her fall, she was galloping and jumping in beautiful countryside in the bright sunshine, and she was happy.
Lucinda added “Brit defied all the odds as an eventer, she was small, chestnut, a mare and wasn’t the greatest mover, everything you wouldn’t normally want in a horse but she was proof that these things don’t always matter. She opened up people’s minds to mares and now you can see a lot more mares out there competing, I do believe that our one in a million mare had a part in that. On top of this Brit was so gentle, she had a heart of gold and I could trust her with Ellie from a young age. She was so easy to manage and had no annoying habits but when she was in competition she definitely transformed into a lion”.
“Brit was my best friend but also a friend to many others. She touched so many people’s lives and always brought a smile to everyone’s face and of course she will be missed forever. I hope that the partnership and the success that myself and Brit shared has, and will be, an inspiration to many young eventers in the future. Anything’s possible if you believe”.
"I hope that Brit’s legacy goes on with Britannia’s Mail (Marley) and Little Britannia (Milly) along with the five other ET youngsters – Ron, Simba, Nala, Ruby and Bella. I have told them that they need to put their best feet forward now!"
Here is a moving tribute to Headley Britannia by Lucinda and her team
