On his retirement from top-level eventing, Horse & Hound caught up with William Fox-Pitt to find out what his plans are now – and reminisced about the top horses he’d loved most.
If William had the fantasy chance to go to a final Olympics on any of his horses, it’d be a toss-up between Chilli Morning and Badminton and Burghley winner Tamarillo.
“I should probably ride Chilli because he was so consistent, so nailed-on to be good in all three phases,” he mused. “But in the time since I’ve had Tamarillo I’ve improved in the dressage so I’d get more out of him now. He was the best and most consistent jumper. Somehow I’d like to ride both…”
William adored Tamarillo – “an extraordinary horse, there was nothing like him”, while Chilli “was a really cool dude, who always had a go, never said no, every single day”. But his favourite was Moon Man, whose greatest claims to fame were European team gold, two British open titles and third at Kentucky.
“He was just so normal, and such a worker,” says William. “He couldn’t move or gallop or jump like the others, but he always tried. The sad thing is we found out when he died from colic that he had terrible ulcers, which explained why sometimes he pulled himself up. We didn’t know anything about ulcers then.”
William’s eclectic taste in horses is a hallmark. He credits a band of loyal owners for “giving me lovely horses to ride”. From Catherine Witt’s speedy thoroughbred Parklane Hawk to Brook and Sally Johnson’s cobby Moon Man; from Frank and Ann Andrew’s hunter-type Cosmopolitan to Finn and MW Guinness’ dainty, racy Tamarillo, plus a top-class handful including Ballincoola and Lionheart for Judy and Jeremy Skinner – he found the key to all.
“I don’t have a type, I never have,” he says. “I was lucky that my mother had all sorts of horses at home – hunters, eventers, racehorses. I recall riding my father’s Badminton horse round a hunter trial when I was 10. I was mad on hunting, and we used to stay with my grandmother in Leicestershire where I rode everything and anything.
“When I was the only boy still riding after leaving school, people would send me horses as they were giving up, so I started collecting them. I just love horses, all horses. My attitude was, ‘That looks like a good horse, I’ll learn how to ride it’.
“I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of making the horse the best it can be. Jackie Potts, my head groom, has been my right-hand man in managing them as they don’t fit into a package. Some like this field, or this stable; some like a small breakfast so they eat their lunch. Jackie is very good at working out their differences, and that helped me get a reputation for having a set-up that can get the best out of a horse.”
We have certainly enjoyed watching William Fox-Pitt, the master of five-star get the best out of so many tremendous horses in his 40-year stellar career.
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