As she juggles her equestrian career with being a full-time mum to baby Mia, Zara Tindall is managing without hired help. The royal sportswoman told an interviewer from the Telegraph she hasn't employed a childminder, despite speculation to the contrary.
Zara Tindall is juggling her career with motherhood without taking on hired help
"The press have printed that I have a nanny, who is my best mate Dolly Maude, which they obviously haven’t realised…" she said. "She’s been to two competitions and helped me and she’s apparently my nanny…but she's not, she’s got four of her own kids to look after."
Princess Anne's daughter shares parenting duties with husband Mike Tindall, who is often seen taking charge of their almost eight-month-old baby at events.
Mike Tindall shares parenting duties with his wife
And with Zara's stables so close to the couple's house on Gatcombe Park Estate, the busy mum can dash home in an instant, if need be. The 33-year-old's dedication to her sport is paying dividends. At the weekend she helped Britain's equestrian team qualify for the 2016 Rio Oympic Games, jumping a perfect round at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy. Her team were placed second overall.If Zara continues to be on form, there's every chance she could be included in the team for the next Games, where she hopes to pick up a gold medal, improving on the silver she secured at the London 2012.
When the Telegraph interviewer asked the Queen's granddaughter if she could imagine giving up eventing and being a full-time mother, the royal replied: "I am a full-time mother!" She added: "I don’t know. The bigger they [babies] get, it's easier for you to get back to what you were doing before," which seems to suggest the horsewoman has no plans to get out of the saddle any time soon. And as to the question about whether she would like her daughter to follow in her footsteps, Zara gave a resounding "no", adding that Mike's career path was also off limits. "I'm going to keep her away from horses and rugby," she joked.