Girls, Cider and Eventing Success

Whilst the sporting world here in Britain may have been transfixed on the cricket, football, rugby and athletics front William Fox-Pitt was quietly going about his business in the world of eventing, capturing a record 6th Burghley and becoming, in the process, the world number one, deposing the evergreen Mary King, who finished a credible third.

This is all very good news with the Olympics less than a year away, where the sport of eventing will be staged in London's panoramic Greenwich Park. And there's more. Zara Phillips has been rather busy recently doing royal weddings - mainly her own to England rugby star Mike Tindall - but lest one forget, she was until recently a world and European three day event champion. That was down in part to her horse, Toytown, who has since retired.

An eventer is only as good as their horse, so it was good to see Zara finishing tenth with High Kingdom, her best four star finish since 2006. Suddenly her chances of making the highly competitive British Olympic team have improved immeasurably after her disappointment in not making the 2008 Beijing Games due to Toytown's injury.

I remember watching her Mum (that's Princess Anne to you and me) at Burghley many moons ago when I was a boy who lived in nearby Stamford. Indeed the Burghley horse trials was one of the highlights of the year, mainly I should add because that's where we liaised with the High School girls and drunk cider, beer, or anything we could get our hands on.

Still, from time to time we emerged to take in the horse trials which is why, to this day, I always keep a look out to see who has starred at the home of Lord Burghley. This year, for the 6th time, it is Fox-Pitt. His timing could not be better.