London 2012 Olympics: Medal for Team GB as Zara Phillips and eventing team ride to glory

  • Team GB comes second to Germany in equestrian team event
  • Zara, Tina Cook, Nicola Wilson, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King win Britain’s second silver of London 2012, following cyclist Lizzie Armitstead
  • Zara’s father, Captain Mark Phillips, won gold in the event at the Munich Olympics of 1972
  • Zara supported by Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,
    Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall.

By
Rob Preece

04:02 EST, 31 July 2012

|

11:57 EST, 31 July 2012

Great Britain won silver today after a thrilling finale to the equestrian team eventing competition.

Team GB, including the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips, finished behind Germany in an exciting contest watched by other members of the Royal family.

Success was assured when the final British rider Tina Cook incurred only just one time fault on her round, giving Britain its 18th Olympic post-war eventing medal.

The drama was watched from the stands
by Phillips’ mother the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,
Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall.

They’ve done it: Team GB’s eventing team won the country’s second silver medal of the London Games despite an early mistake by Zara Phillips (centre)

Medal winners: Tina Cook (left) celebrates with Zara Phillips after winning Team GB’s second silver medal of the Games

Parading: Zara Phillips showed off her silver medal – Great Britain’s second of the London Games

Phillips,
Cook and team-mates Nicola Wilson, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King went
into the final day of the competition in second place.

And they received a rapturous
reception from the home crowd, as Britain looked to overcome leaders
Germany and climb to the top of the podium.

However, Germany’s riders did enough to secure gold. New Zealand won bronze.

Great Britain’s Zara Phillips, watched by fellow members of the Royal family, rides her horse High Kingdom

Proud: Zara Phillips celebrates victory with her rugby player husband Mike Tindall

Zara Phillips’ team-mate William Fox-Pitt and his horse Lionheart go for gold in the showjumping event

Speaking after she was presented with her medal by her mother Princess Anne, Phillips said: ‘It’s huge, it obviously wasn’t the gold but to get an Olympic medal is incredible anyway. To do it with these guys… we have had an amazing week, it’s been a great team and an unreal competition.

‘When you get one of these put around your neck it brings it all back to you and you realise that everything was worth it.

 

‘And of course it was amazing to receive the medal from my mum.

‘Last year I didn’t even think I was
going to be here, it’s an awesome team. We wanted gold but we made
mistakes but when this was round our necks it was all worthwhile.’

Phillips recovered well after making an initial mistake and knocking a bar down on an early jump on her horse High Kingdom.

She said: ‘It was a bit slow in the beginning but after that he got faster, it was my fault, not his. I’m really proud of him.’

She said performing in front of a home crowd did not increase the pressure on her.

‘It’s the pressure that you put on yourself trying to get the best score you can for your team.’

Yesterday was the first anniversary
of her wedding to rugby player Mike Tindall, but when asked if she had
had a chance to celebrate, she laughed and said: ‘No.’

The
outcome made up for Phillips’s own disappointment when she and her horse
High Kingdom incurred a time penalty and knocked down a fence.

Medal winners: Tina Cook celebrates on her horse
Miners Frolic (left) after securing silver for Britain and Mary King
punches the air after a brilliant ride on Imperial Cavalier (right)

Proud mum: Phillips embraces her mother Anne, the Princess Royal, after being awarded the medal

Phillips happily waves to the crowd after her performance on High Kingdom

And the distinguished crowd – complete with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry – waved back

High Kingdom lost both his front shoes in the cross-country yesterday but recovered well, she said.

‘I’m really happy with him to be able to do that today.’

Phillips entered the arena to rapturous applause, quickly followed by silence as she tackled the jumps.

She said: ‘It makes the noise of the poles falling even louder.’

Phillips added: ‘There was a mistake
that we shouldn’t have had because he’s a good jumper and obviously it’s
disappointing for a team sport, but generally I’m really happy with
him.’

Not ideal: Zara Phillips knocked down a fence and incurred seven penalty points on the day

Luckily the Great Britain eventing team still managed to pick up the country’s second silver medal of the Games

Nicola Wilson, riding Opposition Buzz, clears a fence on her way to silver

A capacity crowd watched Zara Phillips in action at Greenwich Park

When asked if the competition had been an emotional experience for her, she joked: ‘It’s like an emotional rollercoaster.’

Family members have come to support her every day of the eventing.

She said: ‘It’s nice that they’ve managed to come and watch.’

Alice Fox-Pitt, wife of William, who
watched with her five-year-old son Thomas, gave a massive cheer as Tina
Cook completed her round, bringing Team GB their silver medal.

She said her husband was ‘ecstatic’ with the result.

‘Gold was there for the taking, obviously it’s really disappointing that they didn’t get it,’ she said.

‘It is not Zara’s fault there were little mistakes. It’s a team, it isn’t about one person.

She’s done it! The Duke (centre) and Duchess (right) of Cambridge celebrate as Phillips and Co take the silver medal

Zara and her horse High Kingdom knocked down one fence on their way around the course at Greenwich Park

Pressure: Zara Phillips suffered disappointment in the final stage of the Olympic team event, in which British riders were going for gold

Tindall tweeting away about wife Zara

Olympic silver medallist Zara Phillips’ husband was keeping a running commentary throughout her triumph.

Mike Tindall’s tweets varied from informative snippets of commentary to messages of support to his wife and her team – most followed with the mantra #ComeOnTeamGB.

As Phillips was about to go out, the England rugby player said: ‘Z in next #comeonZ’

When his wife incurred penalty points for knocking over the fences, he remained positive and wrote: ‘At present we are in silver by .2 from NZ with Germany still in the lead’

Swiftly followed by: ‘At present we are in silver by .2 from NZ with Germany still in the lead’

‘William’s time faults yesterday were expensive, there’s a whole host of reasons – it’s never down to one person.’

Mrs Fox-Pitt said the team was still
‘thrilled’ with their silver, adding: ‘Obviously there’s still the
individual medals to play for.’

It is Britain’s second silver medal of London 2012, following the success of road cyclist Lizzie Armitstead.

After New Zealand’s Mark Todd had one
fence down it meant Cook, a double Olympic bronze medallist four years
ago, could afford to have one fence down and still secure silver for her
country.

And she collected just one time
fault, meaning she had one of three counting scores alongside King, who
jumped clear, and Phillips.

Speaking immediately after the round, Phillips said: “I messed up, and I had to get on with it.

‘Unfortunately that happens but he [her horse High Kingdom] jumps magnificently and he lost two shoes yesterday.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge take in the action during the showjumping contest

Princes William and Harry sat with the Duchess of Cambridge as they prepared to watch their cousin compete

The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry share a joke at the equestrian event

Proud of you cousin: The Royals cheers on their cousin as her mistake goes unpunished and Team GB take silver

‘I’m just disappointed for the team but I’m chuffed to bits for him.

‘You want to get the team in the best position and, hopefully, Mary King and Tina Cook can jump good rounds.

‘The whole week has been an amazing experience.’

With the dressage and cross-country
stages of the competition completed, only two fences separated Britain and Germany before the showjumping phase got under way.

It meant Phillips and her
team-mates had a good chance of becoming the first British riders for
40 years to win team eventing gold.

Although Britain had five riders taking part in the team event, only the best three scores counted.

Royal audience: The Duchess of Cornwall (left) and Princess Anne (right) watch nervously as the showjumping contest gets under way

The Duchess of Cornwall and the Princess Royal encourage the British team from the stands

Peter and Autumn Phillips wore Team GB colours as they watched the competition at Greenwich Park

Britain’s eventers had not won gold
since Munich in 1972, when Zara’s father Captain Mark Phillips was in
the team, but they gave it everything against a crack German quintet of
world champion Michael Jung, Ingrid Klimke, Peter Thomsen, Dirk Schrade
and Sandra Auffarth.

Attention now turns to the individual competition this afternoon, which could bring further British success.

King, seeking her first Olympic individual medal, lies third, just ahead of Cook.

Sweden’s Sara Algotsson Ostholt leads the individual competition, with
Jung second.

Jung is bidding to become the first rider in eventing
history to hold Olympic, world and European titles simultaneously.

Getting into it: The Duke (right) and Duchess (left) of Cambridge cheered on the team

Emotional: Zara Phillips broke down in an interview after her performance

Phillips was delighted to have won a medal, despite her early mistake

Fans cheer as Kristina Cook, of Great Britain, finishes her ride on Miners Frolic in the show jumping phase

Fox-Pitt,
whose middle name is Speed, went clear on his horse Lionheart and
Wilson clipped one fence on her mount Opposition Buzz.

Wilson said: ‘I was so disappointed with the one fence down but he [Opposition Buzz] has jumped so well.

‘He has a unique way of jumping. All the horses are in fantastic order and shape.

‘We hope all the other riders can jump clear. The whole atmosphere here has been amazing.

‘I didn’t notice so much today as I was so concentrated.’

Fox-Pitt said his horse Lionheart had ‘come out bouncing’.

He said: ‘He was fantastic and it is great to finish on a good note.

‘My score is there but, hopefully, it will not be needed.

‘Watching is going to be more nervous now than competing now.

‘The atmosphere in there is electric. You need to keep the horses concentrated.’

Phillips,
a former world champion, and her fellow equestrians were cheered on
during the cross-country event yesterday by the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, Prince Harry, her cousins Beatrice and Eugenie and the
Duchess of Cornwall.

Ready: Zara Phillips and her horse High Kingdom prepare for the final stage of the eventing competition, hoping to help Britain win gold

Team: Zara Phillips gives her horse a pat before the showjumping phase of the competition gets under way

Preparations: Zara Phillips runs with her horse High Kingdom during an inspection before the equestrian eventing showjumping phase

History: Britain stands a chance of winning its first team eventing gold since the Munich Olympics of 1972, when Zara’s father, Captain Mark Phillips, was in the squad

The Royals were among more than 50,000 spectators who sat around the 5,278-metre dressage course to support the athletes.

The crowd’s cheering was so loud that the British riders could not hear their watches beeping, the universally adopted method to indicate progress towards completing the course within the time limit.

Harry and William, both wearing white Team GB polo shirts, looked delighted as the Britons secured silver, as did the duchess.

There were still a small number of empty seats in the arena, even though organisers had sold extra tickets to fill unused spaces.

Phillips, who broke down in tears in an interview afterwards, said: ‘It’s incredible, it gives you a massive lift as you come into the arena. We’re really grateful to everyone who’ve come here to cheer us on.’

Quiet start: The eventing looked on course to be another sparsely populated Olympic event this morning, but the stands soon filled up

Another Royal appointment: Princess Beatrice of York (left) and Princess Eugenie of York turned up to get behind Team GB

Here they come: Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie arrive ahead of the eventing team’s silver success

Loyal support: Fans donned Union Jacks to offer their support to the eventing team

Potential champion: Kristina Cook, riding Miners Frolic, is in contention for the individual gold medal

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Zara trains hard, qualifies for the Olympics, reprehensible her country, wins a silver medal making the nation proud . Duchess DoNothing had her hair blown out. Please take Kate’s name out of the headlines. This was about the equestrian team and Zara not some lazy, vacuous Barbie doll. She has not earned this attention, not today or to date. The DM headlines are getting beyond annoying. Meanwhile, well done Zara!!!
– Tom, London, 31/7/2012 18:14
‘…..reprehensible her country’….???? Don’t you mean represents her country?

In reciprocation perhaps the Chinese will be able to accuse Zara of being on drugs

I wonder if Zara will celebrate by getting sloshed with an ex-boyfriend in a pub…I hear that can’t always be avoided so your spouse just has to understand when it happens.

For Goodness sake DM, leave it off. Zara Phillips rode like a champion, even if she had a clear round, GB would not have got the gold medal. The press has put so much pressure on the poor woman that its probably YOUR fault that they did not get gold! The entire TEAM were fantastic and instead of the rediculous headlines and comments you are making about her, just contratulate the TEAM for which she was an integral part. Also, if you are going to mention medals, Princess Anne also won a silver medal as part of team GB in Montreal in 1975. The press made so much of that saying that she only got picked for the team because she was a princess. Proved wrong there too.

I’d do her. I hope she likes it rough

Zara trains hard, qualifies for the Olympics, reprehensible her country, wins a silver medal making the nation proud . Duchess DoNothing had her hair blown out. Please take Kate’s name out of the headlines. This was about the equestrian team and Zara not some lazy, vacuous Barbie doll. She has not earned this attention, not today or to date. The DM headlines are getting beyond annoying. Meanwhile, well done Zara!!!
– Tom, London, 31/07/2012 17:14
Reprehensible her country lol!!!

Great performance by Zara and all of team GB. Well done all!

Do you idiots (including Joanna) REALLY think I was being serious about a HORSE taking performance-enhancing drugs? Pathetically low level of intelligence on this forum….
– Evan, Cleveland USA, 31/7/2012 18:26
Evan you have only to read all the moaning, pathetic, jealous comments on this board to know that what you say is correct. I have been watching your female gymnasts – fantastic!

I love Zara, congrats to her and the rest of the team!

Well done to the Team. However, is there even the remotest chance that this sport could be classed as inclusive, would a child from an underprivileged background ever have the chance to learn or compete? Sadly I think not.

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