With her blue-blooded connections and famous face Zara Phillips inevitably stands out from her fellow hopefuls for the Beijing Olympics. But joining an official line-up of the men and women dreaming of competing in the 2008 games, the Queen's granddaughter did her best to emphasise that she'll be part of a team effort.
Dressed in the team kit of navy tracksuit top and cream trousers, Zara, who was named BBC Sports Personality of 2006, happily helped her colleague Henry Boswell mount his horse Biggy.
The British equestrian team won't be announced until the spring, but Zara, who's also the reigning eventing world champion, is looking like a dead cert to be riding for grandmother and country.
She'll need to bring all her resilience to bear, as the riding events will take place in the former British colony of Hong Kong, where riding in the heat has been described as "like going into a sauna with your clothes on" by a fellow competitor.
Whatever the challenges she faces the pretty champ is sure to have the support of her mother Princess Anne, who rode in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. And watching back home will, of course, be her royal gran.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
