Badminton: William Fox-Pitt in paradise

Bologna, May 2015 – William Fox-Pitt captured his second Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials title clearing the jumping test today. The finale could not have been more tense, with three penalties – less than the cost of a rail down – covering the first five riders. New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson was in the lead, trying to conquer his possible first win in a career spanned over the last thirty years. When he enter the ring aboard Nereo, William Fox-Pitt already secured an immaculate clear round riding Chilli Morning (a horse who put his sign in the record books being the first stallion ever to win Badminton), just to load some pressure on Nicholson’s shoulders. But today was not the day for Andrew Nicholson: Nereo hitted fence number two, so it was all over… and then two more fences down. Fox-Pitt, the first British rider to win Badminton for six years, last triumphed here in 2004 on Tamarillo. “That was a long time ago, and it makes you realise how hard it is”, he said. “It was very easy to think it was all over with a rider like Andrew in front. He doesn’t make many mistakes”. Normally: but not today…

Final Results
1 William Fox-Pitt/Chilli Morning (GBR) 39.0 + 0 + 0 = 39.0
2 Ingrid Klimke/Horseware Hale Bob (GER) 40.2 + 0 + 0 = 40.2
3 Jock Paget/Clifton Lush (NZL) 40.8 + 0 + 4 = 44.8
4 Mark Todd/Leonidas ll (NZL) 45.8 + 1.2 + 1 = 48.0
5 Bettina Hoy/Designer 10 (GER) 42.8 + 1.6 + 4 = 48.4
6 Andrew Nicholson/Nereo (NZL) 37.8 + 0 + 12 = 49.8
7 Nicola Wilson/One Two Many (GBR) 47.0 + 4 + 0 = 51.0
8 Aoife Clark/Vaguely North (IRL) 42.9 + 4.8 + 4 = 51.7
9 Michael Ryan/Ballylynch Adventure (IRL) 52.1 + 1.2 + 0 = 53.3
10 Sam Griffiths/Paulank Brockagh (AUS) 48.2 + 1.6 + 4 = 53.8
Full results on www.badminton-horse.co.uk

May 10, 2015