Horse racing’s royal connections

Here we detail as many of the connections that exist between equestrianism and the UK royal family. This way readers can get a better understanding of how enamoured the British monarchy is with the top thoroughbreds people like to follow via betting tips columns and the social media feeds of pro trainers and jockeys. After all, anyone whether they have a royal bloodline, or are part of the general public, gets excited by all the media build up and online free bets for upcoming events like Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National, and the Epsom Derby. 

Horse racing has always run in the blue blood that courses through the veins of the UK royal family

The Queen is without the biggest racing fanatic in the royal household. Not only is she an owner of horses, but she also takes a keen interest in breeding them too, a passion so great that she was recently recognised by the horse racing industry by being inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. Despite being 94-years young, the Queen is still said to ride herself and continues to work tirelessly towards her stable of horses becoming the best that they can be.

Princess Anne was the first royal to ever take part in an Olympic Games. She competed in the show jumping competition at the 1976 Olympics held in Montreal, Canada. Unfortunately, things did not quite go as planned for the princess, who fell from her horse while jumping a fence and knocked herself unconscious. Even so, making the Olympic team was an achievement in its own right. She also set the standard for other sporty royals to follow.

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Eventing is also a great royal pastime, a skill handed down from generation to generation

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Zara Tindall (Formerly known as Zara Philips) managed to do what no one before her had done and step out of boring royal duties to become an Olympic silver medalist. The medal came thanks to her horse, High Kingdom, with the two of them being part of the team that were runners-up in the team event at the London Olympics.

No longer being a pro rider, Zara remains a prominent figure on the equestrian scene and has even managed to convince her husband – former rugby union pro, Mike Tindall – to get involved at stables and racecourse around the UK.

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