William Fox-Pitt was today named as the British Equestrian Writers’ Association’s personality of the year following an outstanding season in which he had won eventing individual silver and team gold at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky.
During the past 12 months, the Dorset-based Fox-Pitt had also won the Rolex Kentucky event aboard his world championship horse Cool Mountain six months earlier, as well as finishing second at Burghley and taking top honours at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials.
The BEWA staged its annual awards lunch today at the Hilton Hotel at Olympia in London.
Among the other winners was Laura Bechtolsheimer’s triple world silver medal-winning dressage ride Mistral Hojris, who retained the Petplan Equine Trophy as BEWA horse of the year.
After winning medals at last year’s European championships, the combination landed individual Grand Prix and freestyle silver, in addition to team silver at Kentucky.
Another British success story at the World Equestrian Games – individual vaulting gold medal winner Joanne Eccles – scooped the BEWA’s Vivien Bachelor Trophy under-21 award, while Cleveland’s showjumping prospect Millie Allen, a team and individual European children’s championship medallist, took the Cynthia Muir Trophy under-18 honours.
And the Liz Dudden Trophy for services to equestrian sport was won by renowned dressage exponent Jennie Loriston-Clarke.
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