GREAT BRITAIN'S WILLIAM FOX-PITT WINS THE 2010 ROLEX KENTUCKY THREE-DAY EVENT ON HIS SIXTH ATTEMPT

After his sixth trip to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event William Fox-Pitt and Cool Mountain took the win, not only for the Rolex title but also for the Kentucky Cup World Equestrian Games test event. The duo finished on their dressage score of just 42.8 and retained the lead throughout the competition.

“You don’t dare hope that it might just happen,” said Fox-Pitt. “You hope for the best, but I think it’s also very important to expect the worst. I came here for a top ten placing, and I just kept reminding myself that when I went to the show jumping ring. That’s really where he was at when he came into this event. You suddenly find yourself out there, and you completely lose sight of reality. I wanted to jump a clear round, and I felt pretty sick. When I went in I had a fence in hand. I know my chap tries to jump the jumps. He doesn’t want to knock anything down. He tries his heart out always, so I thought he would definitely give it his best. I am thrilled with him.”

Owner Teresa Stopford Sackville has had Cool Mountain since he was a yearling. “He’s a very special horse to her,” said Fox-Pitt. “She’s always had confidence in him but is his greatest critic as well. She’s always wondered what he might do next. He’s never been a horse that jumped out at you and oozed a four star win, but he’s just been a horse that’s chipped away. She’s very proud of him and rightly so.”

Americans Phillip Dutton and Becky Holder took the second and third spots this year. It was Dutton’s sixth time finishing in the second spot at Rolex, and he and Woodburn finished on their dressage score of 47.7. Dutton was one of seven double-clear rides today and added Woodburn to the line-up, along with his three other mounts, at the last minute due to his inability to get the horse to Badminton as previously planned.

“He is a phenomenal horse,” said Dutton. “He’s a fiery, strong horse, and actually out of the whole weekend I was really pleased with today, because he and I have struggled a little bit to keep things calm on the third day, and he jumped really well today. I’ve found a way to relax him on cross-country so that usually goes well, and the dressage is getting better so hopefully he’ll have his day where he’s not second but wins one of these.”

Holder and Courageous Comet made the time allotted of 88 seconds on today’s show jumping course but had a little trouble at one of the 16 jumping efforts which cost them one rail at fence number three. They finished with a penalty score of 49.2. The pair has been working hard on this phase, and Holder was pleased with her horse today.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of experience being in the top placings after cross-country here at Rolex and not so fortunate to have had a lot of bad rides happen in the show jumping and disappointments,” said Holder. “There really is just a growth that happens with a horse and rider where at some point you have to put all those things aside, and it really doesn’t matter because on the day you can jump one fence at a time as well as you can. When you finish the course the results will be what the results will be, and that’s what I tried to do.”

Thirty-seven horses started today’s show jumping phase after Kelly’s Prather’s mount Ballinakill Glory did not pass this morning’s inspection, and the pair was eliminated. Oliver Townend withdrew ODT Master Rose after his fall yesterday aboard Ashdale Cruise Master, ending his quest for the Rolex Grand Slam.

“I was sure he would win it,” said Fox-Pitt. “He came here with two lovely horses and for it to have gone so wrong just shows what it’s all about. You just never know. You couldn’t have imagined that. We’re just all very, very happy he’s okay, and he’ll win it another day.”

Port Authority and Canadian Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch were awarded the coveted Best Conditioned Horse Trophy as the horse that was determined by the ground jury and the veterinary staff to have ended the competition in the best physical condition. Today’s attendance totaled 16,499, and the four-day total was 61,828.

Spectators stand a good chance at seeing this winning pair back in Kentucky for the World Equestrian Games this fall. Cool Mountain spent the weekend proving he could hold his own against some of the sport’s best. “He has come out of the competition a better horse without a doubt,” said Fox-Pitt. “He’s learned an awful lot. We’re very lucky to have had a fantastic cross-country course to ride—a very educational one—and hopefully maybe for me now a step up to WEG in the autumn. For me to be sitting here having ridden Cool Mountain and to be out on top of Woodburn and Courageous Comet is a huge privilege.”