William Fox-Pitt Bids Farewell to High-Level Riding Career

William Fox-Pitt ends his career as a very high-level rider. “I’m very pragmatic about this: it’s the right thing to do!”entrusted the three-time Olympic team medalist to France Complete this weekend at the CCI 5*-L in Badminton, Great Britain. We will understand that the immense rider, in every sense of the word, experienced his twenty-fifth and last Badminton, ranking thirteenth with Grafennacht, second provisionally after the cross, but also his last CCI 5*, and that we will not see him again in the national team. William Fox-Pitt turns the page on a career which has allowed him to build an impressive record, with no less than fourteen victories at the 5* level, five participations in the Olympic Games and four selections at the World Equestrian Games, with the key being the team gold and individual silver in 2010 in Lexington with Cool Mountain, collective silver and individual bronze in 2014 in Normandy on the stallion Chilli Morning, and two other team charms in 2002 in Jerez de la Frontera and 2006 in Aachen. In nine participations in the European Championships, the Francophile, perfectly bilingual, placed eight times in the individual top ten, winning silver in 1997 in Burghley with Cosmopolitan II and 2005 in Blenheim on Tamarillo, then bronze with Chilli Morning in 2013 in Malmö, without forgetting eight team medals, including six gold.

William Fox-Pitt would of course have liked to end his career at a very high level on a podium in Badminton but he remained firm in his decision. “There will be no ‘ifs’, no ‘buts’, ‘maybes’ and ‘next time’, as I will not return to Badminton (as a rider, editor’s note). It’s a shame to end like this, but I accept it. It’s hard to say, but I’m fifty-five years old and I’ve had an incredible time. I’m in one piece, and I’m lucky to be.”he declared during the awards ceremony, surely referring to the terrible fall he suffered at the Mondial des Jeunes Chevaux du Lion-d’Angers in October 2015, which caused him to have a six-month convalescence. and serious after-effects (read icihere, here).

The fifty-five-year-old rider bows out with very fond memories, grateful for his horses who took him to this level and above all without regrets. If he will continue to train and promote young horses, William Fox-Pitt will soon let Grafennacht go to another stable. “For her, this won’t be the last Badminton! She will come back, and maybe she will jump better next year. We will find her a new rider, better and younger – she needs younger bones on her back! I haven’t even had this conversation with his owner yet, but she knows my age and we will draw up a plan. She’s a great mare, and she was incredible yesterday. It’s just a shame we had to skip today.” As for the champion, we could well imagine him donning the hat of a coach, or even a national coach…

2024-05-15 14:18:20
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