William Fox-Pitt


William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt 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. He is the recordman CCI*****'s winner with 14 grand slam titles. In 2011, he became the first rider to win five different five-star events, having won the Burghley Horse Trials a record six times, Rolex Kentucky three times, Stars of Pau twice, the Badminton Horse Trials twice, and the Luhmühlen Horse Trials once. 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 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. Oliver and Marietta were both equestrian competitors, riding at Badminton and Burghley, and his siblings have been very successful as well. His paternal grandfather was Major-General “Billy” Fox-Pitt a Dorset landowner who served in both World Wars and was a founding officer of the Welsh Guards.
Fox-Pitt was educated at Wellesley House School in Kent, Eton College and the Goldsmiths, 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.
He is married to former eventer and current ITV Racing presenter Alice Plunkett. They have four children: Oliver, Thomas, Chloe, and Emily.

Sporting career

He is the recordman CCI*****'s winner with 14 grand slam titles. He is also the only rider to won 5 out of the six CCI*****'s
having won Burghley, Badminton, Pau, Kentucky and Luhmuhlen.
He holds the record for the most wins at the Burghley Horse Trials; 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.
Team golds in European Championships in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009. He took individual silver at the 1997 Europeans, team bronze at the 2002 and 2011 Europeans, individual silver at the 2005 Europeans, team silver at the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games, team gold at the 2010 World Equestrian Games, individual bronze at the 2013 Europeans, team silver and individual bronze at the 2014 World Equestrian Games, and team silver at the 2015 Europeans. He also represented Great Britain at the,,, and, 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 and Thomas, and two daughters; Chloe and Emily. 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. He was the only remaining member of the team who won silver in London 2012.

Career highlights

2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1990
1989
1988
1987
1985

International Championship Results

Gallery