William Fox-Pitt

Date of birth: 01/01/1969

Championship experience

William has an Olympic team silver medal, five European team gold medals, two individual silver European medals, plus World team bronze and silver medals to his credit from his numerous performances on the British team. William has also won medals for Britain as a junior and young rider.

Recent form

William was not been in the headlines as often as in recent years during the first part of 2007 — he withdrew all three of his horses from Badminton at various stages during the competition build-up.

But he hit top form at the end of May, winning both the CCI* and the CCI** at the inaugural Houghton International Horse Trials and taking top spot in the CCI** at Tattersalls a week later. He went on to Bramham, where he won his fourth three-day event in three weeks.

With Tamarillo and Idalgo both out of the picture for this year’s European Championships at Pratoni del Vivaro (13-16 September) after minor setbacks, William took Ballincoola to the Barbury Castle CIC*** on the final selection weekend. The pair finished 21st and were named second reserves for the squad. This is the first time William has not been on the team since 2000.

At Gatcombe William retained his British Novice title and finished second in the British Open with the veteran Moon Man, but Ballincoola glanced off a corner, a mistake William blamed on himself.

William then enjoyed a stellar two weeks when he won both the CCI** and the CCI*** at Blair, before heading to Burghley where he was victorious on Parkmore Ed. This was his seventh three-day victory this year.

Background

With a background steeped in horses, William Fox-Pitt’s choice of career was almost inevitable. His mother was a member of the British three day event team and his father also completed Badminton and Burghley. William is married to television racing presenter Alice Plunkett and they live in Dorset with their two young children.

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