William Fox-Pitt has been so busy in the build-up to the Beijing Olympics he's even had to turn Madonna down.

The world No1 in three-day eventing is so focused on his quest to win gold in both the individual and team events that he's been forced to move his most famous pupil on to another teacher.

Fox-Pitt lives in Dorset just 30 miles away from the queen of pop and his association with her dates back to 2005 when he helped her get back in the saddle following a fall, in which she broke her collarbone, wrist and three ribs.

However, he stopped teaching her at the end of last year and said: "It got to a point where it was unrealistic offering her help on a regular basis. She was mostly available at the weekends, which was when I'm usually competing. So she's working with someone else now."

As for her ability in the saddle, Fox-Pitt, who won a team silver at the Athens Olympics but missed out on an individual medal when his horse suffered an injury, is very polite although says she's unlikely to be an Olympic contender in the near future.

"She's an inexperienced rider but she's a very good learner," said the 39-year-old. "She doesn't expect you to stand there saying nothing. She expects instruction but let's just say she doesn't always agree with it all."

The fact that Madonna came calling in the first place shows the high esteem in which Fox-Pitt is held. He's Britain's best rider at the Games, although he insists Zara Phillips would have been an even better bet to come away with gold had she made the trip.

Phillips was forced to pull out of the Games following an injury to her horse Toytown, which her team-mate described as a "big, big blow to her and the team". He said: "She was our main player and, without her, we're starting at a disadvantage."

The royal rider has added extra glamour and an increased media spotlight to three-day eventing and Fox-Pitt admits the lack of media glare could yet prove beneficial.

"It might mean we can keep our heads down," he added. "But we'd rather she was here with us. Her and Toytown are an excellent combination."

So in fact are Fox-Pitt and Parkmore Ed, his mount for the Games which was chosen by the selectors ahead of Ballincoola and Tamarillo, all of which the former University of London student believes would have given him a good shot at gold. To prepare Parkmore Ed for the massive heat in Hong Kong, where the riding events will take place rather than Beijing, his rider has taken to some bizarre antics around his stables.

This summer, he's ridden out with the horse head to hoof in blankets, while he's taken to jogging in as many layers as he can muster.

Fox-Pitt describes Parkmore Ed as a "real trier" and he's confident the horse will do well in the conditions.

"He's definitely a gold-medal prospect - one of half-a-dozen in fact," he said. "I know he'll dig deep and he'll need to do that in the expected temperatures."

Fox-Pitt and Parkmore Ed will take to the starting line with gold in mind and will do so well aware of the dangers of a sport in which he has seen peers suffer major injury and, worse, lose their lives. "It is a risky business," he said.

"And any of the riders in the field that say they don't have nerves are lying. I'll be nervous but, once the adrenalin kicks in, the fear of danger goes away."

These Games look likely to be his penultimate Olympics but he already has half an eye on 2012, a possible swansong from the sport in front of the home support.

"I'd like to think I'll still be going then and it'll be a dream to ride there. It's not often the Olympics happens in places with perfect conditions for horses," he said. "In 2012 it will and the course will be just a few miles away from where I went to university so it'll be home from home."

To make it to the London Games, Fox-Pitt, despite being the world No1, still needs to find a major sponsor, which will undoubtedly be helped if he does well in Beijing.

"But I can't think about London too much" he said. "I better get these Games out of the way first."