London 2012 Olympics: Zara Phillips in the Olympic Eventing Team
The British Equestrian Federation can confirm that they have formally nominated the following five riders to the British Olympic Association (BOA) for Team GB. The nominations must now be reviewed and ratified by the BOA before the athletes are selected for Team GB.
The nominated athletes are:
– Kristina Cook ¨C (41) riding Miners Frolic
– William Fox-Pitt (43) riding Lionheart
– Georgina [Piggy French] (31) riding Jakata or DHI Topper W
– Mary King (51) riding Imperial Cavalier
– Zara Phillips (31) ¨C granddaughter of Queen Elisabeth ¨C riding High Kingdom
Between the five selected riders the eventing team contains a wealth of experience; this will be Mary Kings sixth Olympic Games; William Fox-Pitt¡¯s fourth and Kristina Cook second. Although Zara Phillips and Georgina French will make their Olympic debuts in London 2012, they are also no strangers to championship call ups for their country.
Kristina Cook, William Fox-Pitt and Mary King were all members of the GB eventing squad that won team bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where Kristina also scooped the individual bronze on Mineri 's Frolic. The same trio were then part of the team that won gold at the 2010 World Championships, where William Fox-Pitt took an individual silver medal.
Zara was crowned individual World Champion in 2006 but missed out on her Olympic dream in 2008 when her horse Toytown suffered an injury prior to competition. She is now back at the top of the sport with High Kingdom, a horse that she has brought up the ranks from novice level.
Georgina French (more commonly known by her nickname Piggy), won individual silver at the 2009 European Championships and was also part of the 2011 European Championship team that won bronze alongside team mates Fox-Pitt and King. Piggy also won the Olympic Test event in Greenwich in 2011.
Equestrian Team Leader, Will Connell commented: ¡°It¡¯s been a challenging spring with a number of events cancelled and great credit is due to all the riders who have had to reflect this in their plans. It has also been a challenging time for selectors. The team we have now nominated to the BOA is crammed full of athletes that have proven medal winning ability at European, World and Olympic level. I offer my congratulations to them, their support teams and their horse¡¯s owners and look forward to working with them during the final push to the London Olympics.¡±