Zara Tindall hints at a future with Royal Studs
IT HAS been the Queen’s lifelong passion, breeding world-class horses with an expertise unrivalled even in the Royal Family.
The legacy of the Royal Studs may be in the safest possible hands, it has emerged, as Zara Tindall has hinted she may yet play a part in them.
The Olympic silver medalwinner declined to confirm specific plans to continue her grandmother’s equine success story, but said enigmatically of her future involvement: “You never know.”
The question of what will eventually happen to the Royal Studs has previously been unclear, with neither the Prince of Wales or Duke of Cambridge exhibiting as keen an interest as the Queen in horses.
Mrs Tindall, however, would have the perfect pedigree, following in the footsteps of her mother, the Princess Royal, and Olympic gold medallist father Captain Mark Phillips.
In an interview with Country Life magazine about her career, Mrs Tindall said she was keen to train young horses, but ruled out taking on too much just yet.
“I wouldn’t train racehorses [in future], but I do like starting off youngsters,” she told the magazine.
“The pre-training is probably the most important part, making a horse physically strong enough to cope with its job and that’s what interests me.
“I don’t know what will happen with the Royal Studs, but you never know.”
Royal Studs at Sandringham and Wolferton in Norfolk, and Polhampton in Berkshire, currently contribute to a training programme for around 25 horses racing each season, with the Queen taking a keen personal interest in their development.
Her achievements include, in 2013, becoming the first reigning British monarch to win Royal Ascot’s Gold Cup in 207 years of the race.
A source close to Mrs Tindall said it was “too much of a leap” to assume any firm plans for the Royal Studs from the interview. Any decision about the future running of the Royals Studs is a matter for The Queen.
Mrs Tindall, who is married to former England rugby captain Mike Tindall and is mother to three-yearold Mia, also spoke of life as a working mother, saying her current set-up of having eight horses allows her to “balance everything”.
The full interview is published in this week’s Country Life, on sale now.