#Willdoes Ambassador William Fox-Pitt MBE meets young riders on the bus
Olympic rider William Fox-Pitt, MBE, made a special appearance at the #WillDoes community bus during the British Eventing horse trials held at the RAC Saddle Club at Bovington, Dorset, on Saturday 15 October.
William Paddy was a huge fan of Fox-Pitt and, lucky to have met him a few times, would have loved the fact that the famous rider is now ambassador to the charity.
Fox-Pitt successfully won his section of the BE100 class on one of his youngsters, BLS Absolutely, jumping the William Paddy memorial snowboard jump in the process.
Here are some of the questions that the children asked William Fox-Pitt MBE, #Willdoes Ambassador and Professional Rider:
Fox-Pitt answered numerous questions raised by the kids including: “When did you last fall off?” and “do you ever get nervous”.
While Fox-Pitt couldn’t remember exactly when he fell off last (he hastened to add that he has fallen many times) he also assured the children that everyone gets nervous.
“Other rider’s may look calm but the most important thing to realise is that everyone is a little tense. Being nervous is normal. It’s not just you. Everyone has an edge.
“I’m riding young horses and while I’m never scared I do think… I’ve got to sit tight! I’ve had injuries riding around two stars and BE100s, it’s not just the big courses where accidents happen.”
He added: “Different people deal with nerves in different ways, but you must get comfort from the fact that you are human, this is normal and deal with it. Horses are sensitive and get affected by you. If you are worried try to disconnect, give the horse confidence and believe you can do it.”
Fox-Pitt also stressed that competing isn’t all about winning.
“It’s nice to have a win but who cares? It’s about personal bests and victories.”
When asked if he could choose to ride any horse in the world to ride, he offered a few names such as Too Smart and Toledo de Kerser but stressed that he doesn’t get “much horse envy”.
“Do well with what you’ve got. Your job is to get what you can out of it.”
Thank you to #William for taking the time out of your busy day (competing 4 horses) to come and spend time with the young riders on the bus.
It is so nice to see the bus out and about after a few minor obstacles.
