For eventing fans across the globe, William Fox-Pitt‘s 2004 Badminton winner Tamarillo will be the standout horse of a generation — the one that you had posters of on your wall as a teenager and madly kept track of during the season.
On hearing the news that the Olympic silver-medallist was put to sleep yesterday (28 July 2015) at the age of 23, we’ve dug deep in to the archives to take a look back at some of his career highlights in pictures.
Tamarillo in pictures
2002: Badminton Horse Trials
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At Tamarillo’s first Badminton in 2002, the pair finished in second place.
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2002: World Equestrian Games, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
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The 16.2hh gelding and William were part of the bronze medal-winning team in Jerez for the World Equestrian Games in 2002, following on from their success at Badminton earlier that year.
2004: Badminton Horse Trials
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William Fox Pitt and Tamarillo
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An unforgettable Badminton: William achieved his lifelong ambition of lifting the Badminton trophy in 2004 with Tamarillo, who was bred by the Guinness family in 1992 at the Biddesden Stud.
2004: Olympics, Athens, Greece
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Following on from William’s Badminton Horse Trials win, the pair were part of the silver medal-winning team at the Athens Olympics — although Tamarillo had to be withdrawn from a promising individual place after an injury on the cross-country.
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William and Tamarillo during a photocall for members of the British Olympic eventing squad for Athens in 2004, at a press conference at Waresley Park, Befordshire.
2005: European Championships, Blenheim Horse Trials
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At the European Championships at Blenheim in 2005, William and Tamarillo claimed the individual silver medal as well as being part of the gold medal-winning team. Earlier that year the pair had finished second at Badminton.
2008: Burghley Horse Trials
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In 2008 the pair secured the Burghley Horse Trials title, with Tamarillo rounding off his four-star career in typical style — ears still pricked.
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A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.
