Four Royals Who Participated in Equestrian at the Olympics

The Olympics are the highest stage on which an athlete can perform. The likes of Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Carl Lewis made their countries proud by claiming gold for their nations. However, have there been any royals or any member of the Royal Family compete in the Olympics? Well, there are four of them just in the field of equestrian.

Princess Anne, the first member of the Royal Family to grace the Olympics

Daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and sixteenth in line to the throne, Princess Anne is famous not only for her lineage. The Princess Royal stormed the stage at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as part of the British eventing team.

Princess Anne was a gold medalist in the European Eventing Championships in 1971, and wins in team and individual eventing in 1975 guaranteed her a spot in the eventing squad for the Olympics. She rode the Queen’s horse, Goodwill, at the Montreal Games.

Unfortunately, Princess Anne couldn’t repeat her European Championship success on the Olympic stage. She even suffered a concussion halfway through the course, and she claimed she doesn’t remember finishing the rest of the course.

Captain Mark Phillips is a British Olympic legend

If Princess Anne couldn’t, her husband definitely did. Mark Phillips, former Second Lieutenant?into the?1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, former Personal aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth and then Captain is a two-time Olympic medalist in equestrian.

A reserve member of the 1968 Olympics eventing squad, his impressive performances in the 1970 European Eventing Championship brought him a place in the 1972 eventing squad headed to Munich. There, he clinched gold in the team eventing competition, and sixteen years later, took home the silver medal in the team eventing competition in the 1988 Seoul Games.

Through equestrian he met and fell in love with Princess Anne. His work in equestrian is so rewarding, he’s still considered a leading figure in British equestrian circles. He’s currently a columnist for Horse and Hound magazine and Chef d’Equipe of the United States Eventing Team.

Zara Tindall follows in her parent’s footsteps

If Princess Anne and Mark Phillips are equestrian legends, their daughter mustn’t be far behind them. Zara Tindall, twentieth in line to the throne (but sixth at birth) is also an Olympic medalist for her country. She’s not only carrying her family legacy but making a statement with her skill and lineage.

Daughter of not one but two equestrian legends, Tindall had massive expectations on her shoulders. However, she didn’t just over-deliver, but crushed the competition at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, winning the silver medal in team eventing. Her mother, a former Olympian, presented her with the silver medal.

Tindall’s career in the Olympics almost began in 2004, but she could not qualify for the Athen Games. She even attempted to qualify in 2016 for the Rio Games, but was unsuccessful. Her last big appearance on the big stage came at the FEI Nations Cup in 2020.

Princess Haya bint Hussein represents Jordan at the Olympics

Daughter of the King of Jordan Hussein bin Talal and Queen Alia, Princess Haya is an Oxford graduate and an accomplished athlete too. Aside from her royal duties, her love and passion for horses led to her becoming heavily involved in equestrian.

She began riding horses at thirteen and won a bronze medal in the Pan Arab Games in 1993. Becoming the first woman to represent Jordan in equestrian, she trained in Germany and England before stepping onto the Olympic stage in 2000. Unfortunately, she went back home empty-handed.

However, her role landed her an upper management role in the sport and she became a member of the International Olympic Committee. In 2006, she became the President of the FEI, an office she held for three years. Now, she is the president of the International Jordanian Athletes Cultural Association.

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