ContinueThere would have been much joy and relief in a Cheltenham house yesterday when the news reached Zara Phillips that she had, just, made it to the London Olympics as part of the GB five-strong team in the eventing.
To those not in the know this was far from a foregone conclusion. Forget the fact that Zara happens to be part of a certain family and is a lot nearer to becoming this country's monarch than you or me. That has never come into it in terms of her sport.
Forget the fact, too, although far more relevant, that she became both European and World champion in 2006 and 2007 on her celebrated horse, Toytown, the latter helping her claim the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year award. That was then and this is now.
Since then injury to Toytown robbed him and Zara of a deserved place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where the pair would surely have challenged for gold, and the past four years have all been about producing another horse worthy of Olympic competition.
We, the public, may see far more of Zara attending Jubilee events and general society and sports affairs, but behind the scenes the 31-year-old, who married former England rugby star Mike Tindall last summer, works very hard to be one of the best eventers in the world.
I know this because I have spent some time in her company and the glamorous Queen's granddaughter is the same person who mucks out the stables at some ungodly hour in the morning, before riding hour upon hour, travelling across Europe and competing week after week.
The hard work has paid of because in High Kingdom she has a horse that, somewhat late in the day, has forced the pair into GB Olympic reckoning, and with the likes of William Fox-Pitt, the amazing Mary King in what will be her 6th Olympics, Piggy French and Kristina Cook, we have five individuals who, on their day, could challenge for medals, as well as a team who should most definitely be setting their sights on the medals podium.
It is quite a sporting household back in Cheltenham, where world and European eventing medals vie for hanging space alongside rugby world cup and Six Nations medals, but both Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall will be hoping an Olympic medal can be added to that impressive haul come August.
