William Fox-Pitt's bid to become only the second person to win eventing's Grand Slam failed at the Badminton Horse Trials.
Fox-Pitt, riding Parklane Hawk, needed a clear show jumping round and still hope other results went his way to add the title to previous wins at Burghley and Kentucky.
But the three-time Olympic medallist knocked down the final element of the combination at fence seven, a mistake which could have cost him £230,000 and left him ranked fifth overall.
New Zealand's Jonathan Paget won a nail-biting final show jumping phase to take the title on Clifton Promise while Olympic, world and European champion Michael Jung took second and New Zealand's Andrew Nicholson third.
Fox-Pitt, who was third after the cross country stage, was the top ranked home rider while Mary King and Imperial Cavalier, part of the silver medal winning British team at last year's Olympics, were 13th.
“I came here knowing I had two great horses and could win, but I didn’t think I would win,” said Paget.
"Recently I’ve made mistakes that lost me the win, but this time both horses did everything I asked and it turned out to be enough."
© Sportsbeat 2013