William Fox-Pitt out of hospital: ‘It’s fantastic to be home’
William Fox-Pitt has been discharged from hospital to continue his rehabilitation at home.
The Olympic eventer suffered a head trauma when he fell at fence 20, an owl hole, on the cross-country at Le Lion d’Angers while riding Reinstated on 17 October.
He spent three weeks in a French hospital before flying back to the UK on 9 November to continue his treatment.
“It is fantastic to be back home, it feels like it has been a long time away from my family,” William said today (Tuesday, 17 November).
“I would like to thank all the doctors in France from the team at Le Lion d’Angers to those who looked after me in the ICU in Angers.
“The rehab team in Poole General Hospital have been incredibly thorough.
“The team at home have been doing an amazing job keeping everything going but luckily everything is quiet as the horses are all on their end of season break.
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“I am looking forward to making a full recovery over the winter.”
William was competing in the seven-year-old CCI2* class at the FEI/WBFSH world championships for young horses when the accident happened.
The horse, who he first competed in May 2014 at Chatsworth, was not injured in the fall.
The course was held for more than an hour while William received medical assistance.
William, who currently stands at number four in the world eventing rankings, had already completed the course successfully on his first ride, The Soapdodger.
The 46-year-old is one of Britain’s most successful eventers of all time. He has won Badminton Horse Trials twice and Burghley six times.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.