On the 31 July, 2012, equestrian Zara Anne Elizabeth Tindall MBE [née Phillips] [Born 1981], a member of the Great Britain Equestrian Team at the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, she won a silver medal in the team event on High Kingdom, which was presented to her by her mother, Princess Anne, the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II.
A member of the British royal family, at birth, she was 6th in line of succession to the British throne, she is now 18th. Zara Tindall was born in May 1981, at St Mary’s Hospital, London. She was baptised Zara Anne Elizabeth in July 1981, at Windsor Castle.
During her schooldays, Tindall excelled at many sporting activities, representing her schools in hockey, athletics and gymnastics. She later studied at University of Exeter and qualified as a physiotherapist.
Riding her horse Toytown, Tindall collected individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championship in Blenheim, and won the Eventing World Championship in Aachen, Germany, in 2006. In the same year was voted 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, an award won by her mother won in 1971. She also collected individual gold and team silver medals at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, making her the reigning Eventing World Champion until 2010.
She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours for her services to equestrianism. In 2012, she carried an Olympic flame at Cheltenham Racecourse on her horse Toytown.
Her godparents are her maternal uncle, Prince Andrew, the Countess of Lichfield, Helen, Lady Stewart (wife of Sir Jackie Stewart), Andrew Parker Bowles, and Hugh Thomas. Tindall herself is godmother to Prince George of Cambridge.
Tindall went to Beaudesert Park School in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and Port Regis School in Shaftrsbury, Dorset, before following other members of the Royal Family in attending Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland. During her schooldays, Tindall excelled at many sporting activities, representing her schools in hockey, athletics and gymnastics. She later studied at University of Exeter and qualified as a physiotherapist. In December 2000, she had a severe car crash near Bourton-on-the-Water.
Tindall, who is a keen supporter of numerous charitable causes, met the Gloucestershire and England rugby union player, Mike Tindall, during England’s Rugby World Cup-winning campaign in Australia in 2003. Their wedding was held in July 2011 at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. with 400 guests in attendance. The marriage was officiated by the Reverend Neil Gardner. Her off-the-peg ivory silk dress designed by Stewart Parvin featured a chevron-pleated bodice, a dropped waist, and a ‘cathedral-length’ train.’ The Meander Tiara was lent to her and secured the veil. Dolly Maude was her maid of honour, and her paternal half-sister Stephanie Phillips was among the bridesmaids. A reception was held at Holyrood Palace following the service.
In January 2013 it was reported that the Tindalls had sold their £1.2 million home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and were moving to the Gatcombe Park estate near Minchinhampton.
Tindall gave birth to a daughter, Mia Grace in January 2014, their second daughter, Lena Elizabeth was born in June 2018
Like her parents, Tindall is an accomplished equestrian. In June 2003, she announced that she had secured a sponsorship deal with Cantor Index, a leading company in spread betting, to help cover the costs of her equestrian career. She finished runner up at Burghley Horse Trials in 2003 in her first four-star event. Riding her horse Toytown, Tindall collected individual and team gold medals at the 2005 European Eventing Championship in Blenheim, and individual gold and team silver medals at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, making her the reigning Eventing World Champion until 2010. The same year after her win in Germany, she was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year by the British viewing public (an award her mother won in 1971). She was also appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours for her services to equestrianism. Despite winning team gold at the 2007 European Eventing Championships in Italy, she failed to defend her individual title after a problem in the show-jumping phase of the competition.