TIME penalties in the cross-county thwarted Laura Collett in her bid to land the eventing title at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany.

Membury-based Collett and her horse Rayef put in two sensational displays to lead the event following the dressage and showjumping phases, but eventually had to settle for third place.

A total of 4.4 penalties in the cross-county section saw the British Olympic reserve rider finish on a score of 40.60, the same score as Germany’s reigning world and European champion Michael Jung.

But due to having a quicker cross-country time, the favourite for this summer’s Olympic gold medal took second place ahead of Collett.

Australian Christopher Burton, one of eight combinations to jump clear inside the time, won with 38.80 penalties aboard Underdiscussion, while another likely German Olympic combination, Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo, finished fourth.

Britain's world number one William Fox-Pitt climbed four places to sixth on Neuf des Coeurs following an immaculate cross-country display, just behind Marlborough-based New Zealander Andrew Nicholson and Nereo.

Collett’s score of 30.2 after the first two sections was enough for her to hold the lead despite one showjump down and two time-faults in the main arena, and she took a lot of positives from how the horse performed throughout the weekend.

“That was the best mark he’s got – I felt like I could do anything in there,” she said.

“I had nothing to lose, so I went for it.

“He was quite spooky in the jumping arena and I just got one fence totally wrong, but he’s really starting to jump well.”