Fifth Burghley crown for Fox-Pitt

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Video - Fox-Pitt claims fifth Burghley title

William Fox-Pitt joined equestrian greats Ginny Leng and Mark Todd in the record books after winning the Burghley Horse Trials for a fifth time.

His mount Tamarillo followed up a flawless display in the difficult cross-country section with a neat show jumping routine on Sunday.

Fox-Pitt also placed second with his other horse Ballincoola.

The top six riders were all British, Mary King taking third and fourth with Imperial Cavalier and Apache Sauce.

While all the drama had been confined to Saturday - when in appalling conditions only 37 of the 59 competitors starting the cross country finished - Fox-Pitt and Tamarillo still had work to do on the final day.

William Fox-Pitt and Tamarillo were superb in the cross-country

But they were given a huge lift when American rider Philip Dutton on Woodburn, just two fences behind Tamarillo in second place, withdrew overnight.

That meant that Dorset-based Fox-Pitt, 39, had the first and second horses going into the show jumping, while King had third and fourth.

There was no change in the standings at the top - Fox-Pitt was able to have two fences down on Tamarillo and one on Ballincoola without that affecting the overall positions.

Afterwards, he said: "I'm so pleased for both the horses and particularly their owners. Today [Tamarillo] was a little bit flat and had a couple of poles down, but who cares?

"To be there with Ginny Leng and Mark Todd is incredible. Who would have thought it? I'm very, very honoured."

Fox-Pitt amassed �99,000 in prize money for his efforts and also took an unassailable lead in the HSBC FEI Classic Four Star Global Horse Trial series.

Meanwhile, Northallerton rider Nicola Wilson moved up from eighth to finish fifth on Opposition Buzz with one of only two clear showjumping rounds.

Fox-Pitt went on: "This is a very emotional result. Tamarillo has been a fantastic horse for me. He won Badminton in 2004, and now this at the age of 16.

"He made Burghley feel easy, I don't think I'll ever be quite as lucky again."

Final results:
1. Tamarillo (W Fox-Pitt) 47.8 pens
2. Ballincoola (W Fox-Pitt) 55.0
3. Imperial Cavalier (M King) 58.7
4. Apache Sauce (M King) 60.7
5. Opposition Buzz (N Wilson) 61.0
6 Lead The Way (C Phillipps) 61.6