2 min readMark Phillips, the ex-husband of Princess Anne and former Olympic equestrian, rarely speaks to the press, but has made a notable exception in a new essay for the British weekly Horse & Hound. Published over the weekend, the article is especially notable for his reflections about another equestrian in the family, his daughter Zara Tindall.
The occasion for the essay was Zara’s recent victory at the British Open Eventing Championship, where she claimed first national title in the competition. Phillips confessed that his initial reaction as a father was less than generous. “Typical dad, my initial thought was that there could not have been too many in it! But there were 41 finishers, 14 eliminations, eight retired and 10 withdrawals.” he wrote. “Having run all our national championships for so many years at Gatcombe, they always have a special place in my heart. For my daughter Zara to win her first national title in the open on the 17-year-old Class Affair was particularly nostalgic after he has let her down frequently at five-star.”
Zara, 45, won team silver at the 2012 London Olympics as well as two gold and three silver medals across both World and European Championships. Most recently, she appeared at the opening ceremony of the 2026 FEI World Equestrian Championships in Aachen alongside Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands and Infanta Elena of Spain.
The essay also ranges beyond Zara, with Phillips offering his analysis of the 2026 World Championship competition in Aachen, including the cross-country course design, the dressage judging, and the British team's performance. He was generous in his praise of the event overall, while noting how fine the margins were between the top competitors at the highest level of the sport.
Phillips, who married Princess Anne in 1973 and divorced in 1992, has maintained a low profile in the decades since. A former captain in the British Army, he competed at the highest levels of equestrian sport before and during his marriage to the Princess Royal, winning team gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics and team gold at the 1970 World Equestrian Games. He later became a respected coach, most notably serving as the United States Equestrian Team’s eventing coach for many years.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at .
