FEI Classics™: Stage is set for a new-look Badminton

News Desk — Wed, 07 May 2014 08:47:20 +0000

William Fox-Pitt (GBR), pictured here with Oslo at the Mitsubishi Badminton Horse Trials 2013, heads to this year’s event as world Eventing number one and leader of the prestigious FEI Classics™ series. Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI.

Written By Kate Green

The two leading riders in the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 go head to head in the fourth leg of the series, the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), this weekend (8-11 May).

William Fox-Pitt, winner of Pau (FRA) last year and Kentucky (USA) last month, and Christopher Burton (AUS), who triumphed on a catch ride at his home CCI4*, Adelaide (AUS), in November 2013, both have exciting rides at Badminton.

Fox-Pitt, the new world Eventing number one, has a commanding 15-point lead in the FEI Classics™, a series he has won three times before, but there is plenty of time for others to catch up.

He has the choice of three rides at Badminton: Cool Mountain, his 2010 Kentucky winner and world team gold and individual silver medallist, Parklane Hawk, the 2011 Burghley winner, and the striking chestnut stallion Chilli Morning, on which Fox-Pitt won individual bronze at the 2013 FEI European Eventing Championships.

Burton, interestingly, has been reunited with his Adelaide ride, TS Jamaimo, after a group of his owners and supporters clubbed together to buy the 15-year-old thoroughbred for him with this year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in mind.

Burton took on the ride just days before Adelaide when the horse’s former rider, Will Enzinger (AUS), broke his leg. “It’s been a fascinating experience and I feel so lucky,” said Burton, who earlier this spring finished fifth on TS Jamaimo in the CIC3* at Belton (GBR). “He’s a good-looking horse on the flat and a careful jumper. I can’t wait to take him to Badminton.”

Around 85 horses from 14 nations will appear before the Ground Jury at the first horse inspection tomorrow (May 7).

FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 Leaderboard (after 3 of 6 events)

1 William Fox-Pitt (GBR) 30 points

2 Christopher Burton (AUS) 15

3 Maxime Livio (FRA) 12

4 Lauren Kieffer (USA) 12

5 Sonja Johnson (AUS) 12

6 Phillip Dutton (USA) 11

7 Buck Davidson (USA) 10

8 Craig Barrett (AUS) 10

9 Sinead Halpin (USA) 8

10 Shane Rose (AUS) 8

Fox-Pitt Back at World No.1 After Rolex Kentucky Win on Bay My Hero

News Desk — Fri, 02 May 2014 06:17:48 +0000

William Fox-Pitt (GBR), multiple Olympic, World and European Eventing medallist, pictured here at the London 2012 Olympic Games, is now leading the FEI World Eventing Rankings. (Jacques Toffi/Arnd Bronkhorst/FEI).

William Fox-Pitt (GBR), multiple Olympic, World and European medallist, and the first British rider to lead the FEI World Eventing Rankings in 2002, is back as world number one.

Fox-Pitt, who also led the world rankings in 2009 and 2010, has a 16-point lead over Andrew Nicholson (NZL), who had led the world Eventing rankings since claiming team bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Fox-Pitt (44) represented Great Britain throughout his teenage years, winning individual silver at the Junior European Championships in 1987, Young Rider team gold at the European Championships in 1988 and 1989, and completed Badminton at the age of 20. His first Burghley win five years later established him as a regular on the senior British team and guaranteed him a ticket to the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.

Olympian

He has gone on to represent Great Britain consistently over the past 15 years, winning team silver at the London 2012 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and team bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

World and European medals

He also secured team gold and individual silver at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 in Kentucky (USA), team silver at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2006 in Aachen (GER) and team bronze at the 2002 edition of the Games in Jerez (ESP), as well as six European team gold medals, one team bronze, two individual silvers and individual bronze.

Records

He has won a total of 52 CCIs (international three-day events), including a record 13 CCI4*s, which are the world’s top six international events. He is the only rider to have won five of these top events, including Badminton (2004) and Burghley, which he has won six times in 1994, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011 when he became the first rider to win a record six Burghley titles on six different horses. He has also won at Luhmühlen (2008), at Pautwice (2011 and 2013), and has just returned from Kentucky with his third victory (after winning in 2010 and 2012).

Next weekend, with his highly successful horses Cool Mountain, Parklane Hawk and Chilli Morning, he heads to theMitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials (GBR), which is also the 4^th leg of the FEI Classics™, a prestigious series uniting the world’s top six CCI4*s, which also he currently leads.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be back as world number one,” said Fox-Pitt. “The world rankings are currently dominated by British riders, and it’ll be interesting to see if the British leaders of the world show jumping and dressage rankings, Scott Brash and Charlotte Dujardin, have retained their lead. This shows that our National Lottery funding and World Class Performance Programme is working, which is great news for all British athletes, and especially for equestrian athletes as we head into our world championships in Normandy his summer.”

Full FEI World Eventing Rankings here.

Equestrian News NI » william fox-pitt

FEI Classics™: Stage is set for a new-look Badminton

Fox-Pitt Back at World No.1 After Rolex Kentucky Win on Bay My Hero