William’s participation here is little short of a miracle as he suffered a serious head injury in October past year and was in an induced coma for over a week.
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But Fox-Pitt beat the odds, and through the first day of competition at the equestrian venue he leads the eventing individual dressage competition with a score of 37.00.
The 47-year-old Briton suffered a serious fall at the World Young Horse Championships in October last year, suffering head trauma that led to him being put in a coma.
Australia’s Christopher Burton and Santano II were second, with Olympic champion Michael Jung third on Sam FBW.
Fox-Pitt was told his recovery would take a full year. “In November August felt a long way away and I was saying, ‘I’m going to be in Rio.’ Then you suddenly realise it’s here and I’m just ready in time”.
“I had lots of help with my rehabilitation and I saw more experts than I ever wanted to see”.
“The Games has come round with flawless timing”, he said.
US riders Boyd Martin with his OTTB, Blackfoot Mystery, and Clark Montgomery with Loughan Glen had their dressage rides today. There is no doubt that the rider will do everything in his power to make his fifth Olympic appearance his greatest.
“This is this horse’s time to shine in the dressage and he was a little disappointing”, Montgomery said.
Across the board, riders are calling the cross-country track a technical, challenging course that is worthy of an Olympic four-star (the Olympics are rated as a CIC***). She tried really, really hard for me. He’s still on the inexperienced side of things. “I was trying to work out if [the cheering] would play in my favor”. The arena footing rode well, the warm up arenas are well thought out, and the stabling blocks are roomy, creating a comfortable, laid back atmosphere for the horses.
Yet, on Friday afternoon a bullet was sacked into the top of the media tent at Deodoro, landing inside the tent alongside journalists who were working away during the lunchtime hour. I could ride on the flat, but jumping was tricky.
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Equestrian competition continues tomorrow with the remainder of the eventing athletes completing their dressage tests.
