DORSET’S William Fox-Pitt claimed Great Britain’s eventers were being “carried along on a wave of craziness” after winning an Olympic team silver medal at Greenwich Park.

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

Phillips, the Queen’s granddaughter, produced the most expensive showjumping round of Britain’s three counting scores, collecting seven faults on High Kingdom.

She had the second fence down, and then had another three time penalties for being over the allowed time of 83 seconds.

But it would be harsh in the extreme to point fingers at the 31-year-old, who was watched from the main arena stands by her mother the Princess Royal, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Fox-Pitt, himself, had problems during Monday’s cross-country round, collecting uncharacteristic time faults, in a sport that lasts for four days over three different equestrian disciplines – dressage, cross-country and showjumping.

The silver was Britain’s 18th post-war Olympic eventing medal.

“We are all being carried along on this wave of craziness,” said Sturminster Newton ’s Fox-Pitt, of the London 2012 experience.

“This is something we have never experienced in our careers and never will again. It’s just not normal.”

Fox-Pitt was watched by his wife Alice Plunkett, the Channel 4 racing presenter, and their five-year-old son Thomas.

Plunkett said: “Gold was there for the taking. Obviously it is really disappointing that they didn’t get it.

“It is not Zara’s fault there were little mistakes. It’s a team, it isn’t about one person.

“William’s time faults on Monday were expensive. There are a whole host of reasons – it’s never down to one person.”

After New Zealand’s Mark Todd had one fence down it meant Cook, a double Olympic bronze medallist four years ago, could afford to have one fence down and still secure silver for her country as the competition’s penultimate rider.

And she collected just one time fault, meaning she had one of three counting scores alongside King, who jumped clear, and Phillips.

Britain’s eventers had not won gold since Munich in 1972, when Phillips’ father Captain Mark Phillips was in the team, but they gave it everything against a crack German quintet of Jung, Ingrid Klimke, Peter Thomsen, Dirk Schrade and Sandra Auffarth, while New Zealand were third.