Zara Phillips whooped with delight and raised her fist in triumph after Britain's equestrian team secured a place at Rio 2016. The Queen's granddaughter jumped a perfect round at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy meaning there is a big chance she will be included on Team GB at the Olympics in two years time. The result came after 33-year-old Zara returned from seven months of maternity leave to care for her daughter Mia, who was born on January 17.
At the weekend Zara was riding High Kingdom, her mount at London 2012, where she took the team silver. She and her teammates repeated the feat, placing second overall in Normandy.
The equestrian champ came 11th in the individual rankings and her score among the British riders was only beaten by world number one and team mate William Fox-Pitt. Zara has said she 'definitely' wants to take a gold at the Rio Games. She rode into her second trimester of pregnancy and was seen back into the saddle in April.
Speaking of her hopes for Mia, the new mother said she and husband Mike Tindall will try to pass on their love of sport to the little girl. "We have always had sport in our lives and through our childhood," she said. "I think that really is important in every child's life to have that opportunity. I think we have got it off our parents and hopefully we can pass that on to Mia." Her mother Princess Anne, also an equestrian, competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics while her father Captain Mark Phillips is a gold-medal winning Olympian who trains the US team.Of course, Zara's grandmother, the Queen, still rides regularly at the age of 88.
