Fox-Pitt looking ahead to London

By Eilidh Barbour

Fox-Pitt and Parkmore Ed came back from China with a bronze medal

British equestrian star William Fox-Pitt has set his sights on a complete Olympic medal collection and aims to be going for gold at the London Games in 2012.

The 39-year-old picked up a bronze medal in the Team Eventing at the equestrian centre in Hong Kong on a day that also saw team-mate Tina Cook win bronze in the individual competition.

And Fox-Pitt already has a silver medal from the same discipline in Athens 2004.

Despite a poor dressage performance in Hong Kong, Fox-Pitt guided his horse, Parkmore Ed, to second place overall in the cross country, lifting the British team into contention on the final day.

"It was disappointing in the dressage certainly from a personal point of view," Fox-Pitt told BBC Sport.

"We were starting from behind which was quite concerning because you don't want to give anyone a head start in a competition like the Olympic Games, so to come back with a bronze was very exciting."

Fox-Pitt is back in the saddle this weekend as he rides four of his young London 2012 hopefuls at the Blair Castle International Horse Trials, Blair Atholl.

The Dorset rider, who was also at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, is determined to have a shot at the top prize in front of a home crowd.

"I'm certainly hoping to!" he added. "I'm back here competing on my younger horses and looking for one that will hopefully stand out for London 2012.

"The Olympics is ultimately the focus but right now it's important to enjoy the ones that have just been, work on the young horses and see what happens."

In 2012 Fox-Pitt will be 43 and has hinted in the past that London may be the swan song of an illustrious international career that has spanned over 25 years.

Once again, this seems to be the case as he admits it "may be time for something else" after London stating, "I don't think I'll compete in another Olympic Games."

However, the chances of a man so passionately involved in the sport being completely absent is an unlikely event and, should the London Games mark the end of his international career, a gold medal on home soil would be a fitting tribute.