DORSET’S William Fox-Pitt has reflected on the emotional memories of London 2012 – one year on from the Olympic Games.

The Sturminster Newton-based star hit the headlines when he helped the Great Britain eventing squad secure a team silver medal on home soil at Greenwich Park.

Together with Zara Phillips, Mary King, Tina Cook and Nicola Wilson, Fox-Pitt finished 4.5 penalties behind gold medallists Germany, with New Zealand in third.

Recalling the showpiece occasion, three-times Olympic medallist and former world number one Fox-Pitt said: “The Olympics in London were a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I have memories from it that will never go away. As I said at the time, nothing will ever match up to that atmosphere and the success Team GB had.

“Looking back, it is still hard to believe we did so well as a country and all the anniversary events have brought it all back.

“In terms of my silver medal, I remember how huge the show jumping was. It was a massive climax to the competition and, in the end, the pressure made it such a close-run thing. We were so close to gold in the end but also close to finishing fourth.

“One minute our team manager was saying it wasn’t looking good and we hadn’t got a medal, then the next minute he was saying we were in with a chance of gold. It was very emotional.

“On the last day of the event, I was riding Lionheart in the show jumping and I felt confident as that was one of his fortes.

“I had a feeling he was going to jump well and he did which was a big relief. I had a few time faults in the show jumping but it was good to finish on a high on the last day. One of the big things I remember was the home crowd, who made such a big difference as we eventually came through to win the silver.

“Rio will have its own atmosphere when it hosts the Olympics but nothing will match London. There won’t be another feeling like it.I feel very lucky that I was able to ride in a home Olympics during my career and it will always be a special moment for me.

“There was disappointment that we didn’t win the gold after silver in Athens and bronze in Beijing. There was that feeling of ‘if only’ but it was soon overtaken by a sense of relief and excitement to have got silver when we could have ended with nothing. To have missed out on a medal all together would have been horrific.

“I haven’t really had a chance to watch it back on DVD yet, I’ve been that busy since the Olympics with competitions and other things.

“Maybe, on a cold night this winter, I will go down memory lane and re-visit the whole thing.”