THE wait for the elusive Badminton Horse Trials title goes on for Marlborough-based rider Andrew Nicholson as he saw the crown snatched from his clutches on the final day.

The New Zealand rider went into the show jumping round with the narrowest of margins on Nereo after two days of dressage and yesterday’s cross country.

His was just 1.2 penalty points ahead of William Fox-Pitt, on Chilli Morning, and a further 0.6 ahead of third placed Oliver Townsend, on Armada.

However it was Fox-Pitt who kept his calm to go clear to put the pressure firmly on the 53-year-old and with the crowd in vociferous form for the Brit Nicholson knew he had blown it when he stumbled into just the second fence.

Nicholson had two more fences down in his round to drop him out of the top three down to 6th place but the veteran rider was gracious in defeat.

“I wasn’t good enough to win it and it is quite simple,” he said after his final round.

“Nothing gets handed to you on a plate at this level, you have got to deserve it and be good in all three bits.

“William’s horse is fantastic and he rides it beautifully and he deserves it, because Ingrid was snapping on his heels.

"Perhaps I was a little bit too casual to the first and I just had to squeeze him a bit to get up to the first and I think that panicked him a bit and then he got like he wasn't really looking at the second.

"After that he feels like he has done something majorly wrong and gets strong and dancey.

"It's something that you try and be calm. You try to ride the course softly and if it goes wrong it goes wrong.

"Life goes on, tomorrow is a new day and there are much worse things that have happened than happened today.”

However it was a more successful day for Marlborough-based rider Jock Paget who saw himself and Clifton Lush rise up two places as he knocked just one fence down to take the final podium spot behind German rider Ingrid Klimke who also went clear on Horseware Hale Bob.

It was also a good day for Swindon-based Sir Mark Todd who went clear but got just one time fault to see himself and Leonidas II climb up five places to fourth.

Highworth-based Paul Tapner lifted Kilronan to 13th place with just one fence down, while his other horse Indian Mill, who started the day in 6th, finished one place behind in 14th.