Zara won't defend World eventing title

By Justine Thompson

General news

09 March 2010 15:57

Zara Phillips today confirmed she won’t be defending her World Equestrian Games title later this year.

She won the title on the great Toytown, but now says he is unlikely to be sound for the Games title in Lexington, Kentucky in October.

Speaking from her yard at Gatcombe Park Zara said: “It’s always been difficult keeping Toytown right once he’s in serious work. He’s a horse of a lifetime, a one-off. He doesn’t owe me anything.”

Toytown also won the 2005 European Championships, but he missed the 2004 and the 2008 Olympic Games because of injury.

Whether Zara even gets to Kentucky will depend on her results this spring with her two other four-star horses - Glenbuck and Poilu - both of which are entered for Badminton next month next month.

Glenbuck has already completed both Burghley and Badminton. Poilu was previously ridden by Australian eventer Clayton Fredericks and is a new horse for Zara.

Now Zara has set her sights on the London Olympics, with a string of up-and-coming horses to her name.

Both her parents competed in the Olympics – mum Princess Anne in Montreal in 1976 and dad Mark Phillips in Munich 1972 and Seoul 1988 – so she is hoping to follow in their footsteps.

Zara said:  “I loved competing in front of the home crowd at Blenheim (2005 European Championships). They were very supportive and it was such a great atmosphere - it would be fantastic to be able to do it again in London."