Back at the top: William Fox-Pitt (GBR), whose win at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials 2015 made him the first rider in history to win there on a stallion (Chilli Morning), is now back as world Eventing number one. (Jon Stroud/FEI).
William Fox-Pitt (GBR), the multiple Olympic, World and European medallist, is back as world Eventing number one after victory in last month’s Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, fourth leg of the FEI Classics™.
He had held on to the world number one slot for a year until last month, when Michael Jung (GER), who became the first Eventing athlete to hold the European, world and Olympic titles simultaneously in 2012, jumped to the top of the FEI World Eventing Rankings for the first time in his career.
Fox-Pitt and Jung have now switched places again, with Fox-Pitt holding a 15-point lead over second-placed Jung. The USA’s Boyd Martin is in third, just one point ahead of Andrew Nicholson (NZL) in fourth on 486 points.
Four of the world’s most successful female Eventing athletes are now in the FEI World Eventing Rankings top 10. Jonelle Price (NZL), fifth, is just 50 points ahead of London 2012 Olympic team gold medallist Ingrid Klimke (GER) in sixth, while Belgium’s Karin Donckers has dropped one place to eighth. Nicola Wilson (GBR), London 2012 Olympic team silver medallist, now completes the top 10 after her meteoric rise from 18th, and slots in just 21 points behind Jonelle Price’s husband Tim in ninth.
View the full FEI World Eventing Rankings here.
Longines FEI European Championships 2015 - less than 100 days to go
Fox-Pitt, who scored individual bronze at the FEI European Eventing Championships 2013 in Malmö (SWE), has helped Great Britain to six of its 14 European team golds. However, the last European Championships marked the first time in 20 years that Great Britain had not won a team medal. Fox-Pitt will be looking to set this record straight at the Longines FEI European Eventing Championships 2015 at Blair Castle in the Scottish Highlands on 10-13 September (see video here).
More Infos about William Fox-Pitt
William Fox-Pitt (46) 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. He has since represented Great Britain consistently, winning team silver at the London 2012 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and team bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
He 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.
Fox-Pitt has also won a total of 55 CCIs (international three-day events), including a record 14 CCI4*s, which are the world’s top international events: Badminton (2004 and 2015, when he became the first rider in history to win there on a stallion), Burghley six times (1994, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2011 when he became the first rider to win a record six Burghley titles on six different horses), Luhmühlen (2008), Pau twice (2011 and 2013) and Kentucky three times (2010, 2012 and 2014).
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