Zara Phillips hoping it's third time lucky after being selected for Olympics

 

Zara Phillips hopes it can be a case of third time lucky after being selected for her Olympics debut.

Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, has been chosen alongside William Fox-Pitt, Mary King, Piggy French and Tina Cook in the London 2012 Great Britain eventing team.

She would have been at the 2004 and 2008 Games, but injuries to her world title-winning horse Toytown dashed those hopes.

Phillips, 31, has been picked for London on High Kingdom, and she said: "It's awesome to be given this opportunity.

"I am really excited and can't wait to kick on and get him there. Hopefully, we will make it this time.

"High Kingdom is a pretty cool, very relaxed kind of guy.

"He is improving all the time. He's pretty pony-like, a nippy little jumper and easy to manoeuvre, so hopefully it will suit him well in Greenwich."

Phillips will emulate her mother, the Princess Royal, who competed at the 1976 Montreal Games, while her father Captain Mark Phillips was a team gold medallist at Munich in 1972 and then won silver in Seoul 16 years later.

World number one Fox-Pitt will ride Lionheart, King will be aboard Imperial Cavalier and Cook with her 2008 double bronze-medal winning horse Miners Frolic.

French, who like Phillips is set for her Olympic debut, will either ride Jakata or DHI Topper, winner of last summer's London Test event.

But while Phillips has gained selection, there is disappointment for the likes of Nicola Wilson, who has helped Britain win world and European team gold medals in the last three years on her brilliant cross-country exponent Opposition Buzz, Sarah Cohen and Lucy Wiegersma.

It will be 51-year-old King's sixth successive Olympics, meanwhile, emulating the feat of British javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson, with Fox-Pitt competing in his fourth and Cook her second.

Cook saw Miners Frolic suffer a life-threatening illness last year but she has gradually nurtured him back into competition this season, and they jumped a cross-country clear inside the time at Bramham.

"After the horse's illness last year this is a dream come true," Cook, 41, said.

"With his past form, Miners Frolic has proved he can do it, but he nearly died of colitis 12 months ago, so to come back to this level shows he's a real fighter."

And French added: "This is what my team and I have been working towards over the last few years, so it's excellent to be getting this far.

"Obviously, I am confident that Topper will cope with the going at Greenwich because of our experience at the test event, but Topper and Jakata are both amazing horses with different strengths.

"We will make a decision nearer the time based on who is feeling on the best form nearer the Games."

PA

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

iBet: Rose has the ammunition for Wentworth

McDowell did brilliantly to land the World Match Play title in Bulgaria last week, but it’s a format...

by Gareth Purnell

Brits on fire in the wet at Le Mans!

Wow - what a weekend for British Motorcycle racing!

by Luke Wilkins

iBet: Bale and Rooney transfer specials

The dust is barely settling on the Premier League season and the bookies are looking to persuade us ...

by Gareth Purnell

       

Day In a Page

National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death