Zara Phillips, Queen’s Granddaughter, Nominated For UK Olympic Team

Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, has just been nominated to join the United Kingdom’s Olympic Equestrian Team.

Phillips, 31, said:

“It’s awesome to be given this opportunity. I am really excited and can’t wait to kick on and get him there.”

Phillips earned a spot on the Olympic team in both 2004 and 2008 but her horse, Toytown, suffered an injury before the big event on both occasions. This year Phillips is riding High Kingdom, who helped her claim third at Bramham last weekend.

Phillips said:

“I’m really excited. High Kingdom is a pretty cool, very relaxed kind of guy. I was really happy with him at Bramham as he had obviously grown up and is improving all the time… He’s pretty pony-like, a nippy little jumper and easy to maneuver, so hopefully it will suit him well in Greenwich.”

The Associated Press reports that Zara Phillips parents, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, were both Olympian Equestrians. Princess Anne competed in Montreal in 1976 at the Montreal Games and her father helped Great Britain win a gold medal at Munich in 1972. Phillips also won a silver medal 16-years later in Seoul.

The BBC reports that Phillips will join Kristina Cook (horse Miners Frolic), William Fox-Pitt (horse Lionheart), Georgina “Piggy” French (horse Jakata) and Mary King (horse Imperial Cavalier) on the UK Olympic team.

Zara Phillips has just been named to the Olympic team but she’s already been a part of the Olympic celebration in the UK. Last month Phillips and her horse carried the Olympic torch around the Cheltenham racecourse.