William Fox-Pitt

William Fox-Pitt MBE
William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning, Badminton Horse Trials, 2015
Personal information
Full name William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt
Nationality  United Kingdom
Discipline Eventing
Born (1969-01-02) 2 January 1969
Hampstead, London, England

William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt MBE [1](born 2 January 1969) is an English equestrian who competes in eventing. His career highlights include winning three Olympic medals in the team event, with silver in 2004 and 2012, and bronze in 2008. At the World Equestrian Games, he won team gold and individual silver in 2010, and team silver and individual bronze in 2014. He also won World team medals in 2002 and 2006. At the European Championships, he has won six team gold medals, as well as Individual silver in 1997 and 2005, and Individual bronze in 2013. In 2011, he became the first rider to win five different four-star events,[2] having won the Burghley Horse Trials a record six times (1994, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011), Rolex Kentucky three times (2010, 2012, 2014), Stars of Pau twice (2011, 2013), the Badminton Horse Trials twice (2004, 2015), and the Luhmühlen Horse Trials once (2008). A serious fall in 2015 left him in a coma for two weeks, but he came back to make the British eventing team and attend the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Family background and education

Fox-Pitt was born in Hampstead, the eldest son of William Oliver Lane Fox-Pitt (1932-2012, known as Oliver) and Marietta Speed. His father competed in many sports, and in addition had a career in the City, founding an investment bank now known as Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller. [3] Oliver and Marietta were both equestrian competitors, riding at Badminton and Burghley, and his siblings have been very successful as well.[4] His paternal grandfather was Major-General “Billy” Fox-Pitt, DSO, MC, a Dorset landowner who served in both World Wars and was a founding officer of the Welsh Guards" [5][6]

Fox-Pitt was Educated at Wellesley House School in Kent, Eton College and the University of London.

Fox-Pitt began riding at age four. At 13, he stopped riding because he feared he would be bullied by his peers. With the encouragement of his parents, Fox-Pitt began his outstanding career in eventing at the age of 15.

Sporting career

He holds the record for the most wins (six) at the Burghley Horse Trials;[7] William's victories coming in 1994, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011. Additional major wins have been at the Badminton Horse Trials in 2004 and again in 2015, at Gatcombe Park in 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2005, and team golds in European Championships in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009. He took team bronze at the 2011 Europeans, individual bronze at the 2013 Europeans, and team silver and individual bronze at the 2014 World Equestrian Games. He also represented Great Britain at the (1996 Summer Olympics/Atlanta), (2004 Summer Olympics/Athens), (2008 Summer Olympics/Beijing), (2012 Summer Olympics/London) and (2016 Summer Olympics/Rio), winning team silver in Athens, team bronze in Beijing and team silver in London. In 2006 he was ranked the leading rider in Britain for the sixth year running and 2nd in the world, and as of 2014 he was ranked 1st in the world. William is married to Channel 4 Racing presenter Alice Plunkett. They have two sons; Oliver (born in August 2005) and Thomas (born 15 November 2006), and two daughters; Chloe (born October 2012) and Emily (born September 2014). William is a regular columnist in the weekly equestrian magazine, Horse & Hound.

In the eventing world, one of his best known partnerships is with the horse Tamarillo.

In October 2015, a fall at a competition in France left him in a coma for two weeks. After regaining consciousness, he had initial trouble with blindness and then double vision, but was ultimately able to earn a spot on the British team for the 2016 Olympics and returned to international competition with the stallion Chilli Morning.[8] He was the only remaining member of the team who won silver in London 2012. [9]

Career highlights

William Fox-Pitt and Idalgo at the Hillside during the cross-country phase of Badminton Horse Trials 2009.
William Fox Pitt and Before Time at the Ice Pond during the cross-country phase of the CIC*** (Section K) competition at Chatsworth International Horse Trials 2013.

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

  • FEI World number 1 eventing rider
  • 1st Rolex Kentucky Three Day CCI **** (Cool Mountain)
  • 1st Team Event FEI World Equestrian Games Kentucky (Cool Mountain)

2009

  • FEI World number 1 eventing rider

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

  • 5th Le Lion d’Angers (Idalgo)
  • 8th Le Lion d’Angers (Igor de Cluis)
  • 1st Boekelo (Tom Cruise)
  • Team gold and 8th individual European Championships, Punchestown, Ireland (Moon Man)
  • 1st CIC World Cup Qualifier, Thirlestane Castle (Stunning)
  • 1st British Open Championships, Gatcombe Park (Stunning)
  • 2nd British Open Championships, Gatcombe Park (Moon Man)
  • 1st British Intermediate Championships, Gatcombe Park (Tom Cruise II)
  • 1st Luhmühlen Horse Trials CIC *** (Tom Cruise II)
  • 1st Bramham Horse Trials CCI *** (Wallow)
  • 2nd Bramham Horse Trials CCI *** (Ballincoola)
  • 7th Saumur (Coastal Ties)
  • 1st Chatsworth CIC World Cup Qualifier (Stunning)
  • 3rd Rolex Kentucky Three Day CCI **** (Moon Man)

2002

2001

  • 5th and Team gold European Champs, Pau, France (Stunning)
  • 4th Bonn Roderberg CCIO (Barclay Square)
  • 4th Saumur (Stunning)
  • 9th Burghley Horse Trials CCI **** (Springleaze Macaroo)

2000

1999

1997

  • Individual silver and Team gold European Open Championships, Burghley (Cosmopolitan II)
  • 2nd Scottish Open Championships, Thirlestane Castle (Cosmopolitan II)
  • 3rd Badminton Horse Trials CCI **** (Cosmopolitan II)

1996

  • 5th Olympic Games Team Competition, Atlanta, USA (Cosmopolitan II)
  • 6th Bramham Horse Trials CCI *** (Lismore Lord Charles)
  • 5th Boekelo (Mostly Mischief)

1995

  • 6th and Team gold European Open Championships, Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy (Cosmopolitan II)
  • 1st Bramham Horse Trials CCI *** (Cosmopolitan II)
  • 1st British Open Championships, Gatcombe Park (Chaka)
  • 6th Blenheim Horse Trials CCI *** (Loch Alan)
  • 5th Boekelo (Faerie Diadem)

1994

  • 1st Burghley Horse Trials CCI **** (Chaka)
  • 2nd Scottish Open Championships, Thirlestane Castle (Chaka)
  • 7th Punchestown (Thomastown)
  • 2nd British Open Championships, Gatcombe Park (Chaka)

1993

1990

  • 4th and Team gold Young Rider European Championships (Steadfast)
  • 3rd Young Rider National Championships (Faerie Sovereign)

1989

  • Individual bronze and Team silver Young Rider European Championships, Achselschwang, Germany

1988

  • 4th and Team gold Young Rider European Championships, Zonhoven, Belgium (Steadfast)

1987

  • Individual silver Junior European Championships, Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy (Steadfast)
  • 5th Junior National Championships

1985

  • 8th Junior National Championships 1985

Partial CCI 4* Results

Results
Event Kentucky Badminton Luhmühlen Burghley Pau Adelaide
1993 7th (Chaka)
1994 1st, gold medalist(s) (Chaka)
1997 3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Cosmopolitan II)
2001 9th (Springleaze Macaroo)
2002 4th (Stunning) 2nd, silver medalist(s) (Tamarillo) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Highland Lad)7th (Moon Man)
2003 3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Moon Man) 22nd (Highland Lad) 28th (Ballin Coola)
2004 4th (Ballin Coola)11th (Coastal Ties) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Tamarillo) 11th (Ballin Coola)
2005 2nd, silver medalist(s) (Tamarillo)RET (Ballin Coola) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Ballin Coola)
2006RET (Mr Dumbledore)

EL (Coup De Coeur)

 9th (Ballin Coola)

WD (Tamarillo)

 11th (Birthday Night) 6th (Ballin Coola)

19th (Idalgo Du Donjon)
2007 1st, gold medalist(s) (Parkmore Ed)5th (Ballin Coola)
2008 3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Ballin Coola)18th (Tamarillo) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Macchiato) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Tamarillo)2nd, silver medalist(s) (Ballin Coola) 11th (Idalgo Du Donjon)
2009 6th (Seacookie TSF)23rd (Navigator) 2nd, silver medalist(s) (Idalgo Du Donjon)5th (Macchiato) 8th (Seacookie TSF)RET (Macchiato) 17th (Macchiato)
2010 1st, gold medalist(s) (Cool Mountain) 34th (Macchiato)

WD (Seacookie TSF)

 2nd, silver medalist(s) (Seacookie TSF)6th (Macchiato) 2nd, silver medalist(s) (Navigator)
20114th (Neuf Des Coeurs) 13th (Cool Mountain)

15th (Navigator)

 9th (Macchiato) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Parklane Hawk)

18th (Neuf Des Coeurs)

 1st, gold medalist(s) (Oslo)

3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Lionheart)

25th (Macchiato)
20121st, gold medalist(s) (Parklane Hawk) 3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Parklane Hawk)

RET (Seacookie TSF)

 4th (Bay My Hero)5th (Chilli Morning)
20132nd, silver medalist(s) (Seacookie TSF)

RET (Chilli Morning)

 5th (Parklane Hawk)52rd (Oslo) 3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Neuf Des Coeurs)

4th (Lionheart)

 3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Parklane Hawk)

RET (Neuf Des Coeurs)

 1st, gold medalist(s) (Seacookie TSF)

3rd, bronze medalist(s) (Cool Mountain)

15th (Neuf Des Coeurs)
20141st, gold medalist(s) (Bay My Hero)

9th (Seacookie TSF)

 EL (Parklane Hawk)

WD (Cool Mountain)

 WD (Cool Mountain) 4th (Bay My Hero) WD (Parklane Hawk)

RET (Seacookie TSF)
2015 4th (Bay My Hero) 1st, gold medalist(s) (Chilli Morning) 10th (Fernhill Pimms)
2016
2017
2018 RET (Fernhill Pimms)
EL = Eliminated; RET = Retired; WD = Withdrew
William Fox-Pitt on Idalgo clears the Cottesmore Leap at Burghley Horse Trials, 2006

References

  1. ↑ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714825/Birthday_Honours_2018_-_the_Prime_Minister_s_list.pdf
  2. ↑ "William Fox-Pitt wins Pau, but Mary King takes HSBC FEI Classics". Horse and Hound. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "Oliver Fox-Pitt". The Telegraph. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Fox-Pitt, William. What wil be: The autobiography. ISBN 978-1-4072-2334-6.
  5. ↑ "Oliver Fox-Pitt". The Telegraph. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "William Fox-Pitt Survived Gunshot Wound and Pneumonia". Merseyside at War 1914 - 1918. Liverpool John Moores University. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  7. ↑ "Fifth Burghley crown for Fox-Pitt". BBC Sport. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  8. ↑ Staff (August 6, 2016). "Fox-Pitt Leads Early in Olympic Eventing". Blood-Horse. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  9. ↑ The Telegraph: William Fox-Pitt completes stunning recovery to claim Rio 2016 place

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