As we enjoy the Agria European Championships at Blenheim this week (17-21 September), 20 years on from the last championship at the Oxfordshire venue, Zara recalls that week in an exclusive feature for Horse & Hound subscribers
Zara Tindall and Toytown galloping through lashing rain to win the gold is the enduring image of the 2005 Blenheim European Championships, remaining in the minds of many who were spectators on that memorable cross-country day. Here’s this special story of those few days in Zara’s own words…
Zara Tindall tells her 2005 Blenheim Europeans story
Toytown – who we called Noddy or sometimes Ginge – and I had been under-25 champions at Bramham Horse Trials in 2002, then young rider individual silver medallists that year, followed by second at Burghley Horse Trials in 2003. He was injured in 2004 and in 2005 went to Luhmühlen Horse Trials for the first five-star there. We finished second to Bettina Hoy and Ringwood Cockatoo, earning selection initially as individuals.
It was an amazing feeling to get that call-up for a first senior championship, especially on home turf, and I knew Toytown was worthy of being there.
In early August, Pippa Funnell’s selected ride Primmore’s Pride was withdrawn as he wasn’t quite right and I was moved into the team, with Pippa taking an individual spot with Ensign. It’s always sad that someone gets a chance because someone else has to miss out – it was so unfortunate for Pippa.
One of the most exciting parts of being on a squad is always the moment when you get your kit – I think it’s the bit that makes it all feel real. We had team training at Eddy Stibbe’s and with 12 of us there it was particularly fun. I had come through young riders with Kitty Boggis (now King) and Matthew Wright, and we had incredible people to learn from like Pippa and William Fox-Pitt.
There was a lot of support, knowledge and experience at that training session and around the team in general. The older riders reminded us to keep doing what we were doing, as it was clearly working and, as obvious as that sounds, it was important to hear to remind us to stick to the basics. Watching experienced people is important in any sport; I’m sure just being around them was a big positive in our performance.
Zara Tindall (née Phillips) and Toytown at the 2005 European Championships at Blenheim, leading the lap of honour as they win individual and team gold.
(Image credit: Trevor Meeks Photography)
“Noddy loved a crowd”
Blenheim was my first encounter with the European Championships tradition of a welcome evening where all the teams dress up and do a song – it was hilarious!
The British squad stayed in their lorries and I had two boxes there over the weekend. One was for me and my groom, Catherine Owens – she used to drive me everywhere because I didn’t have my lorry licence at the time – and the other had mates in it. Because it was local, everyone could come and watch.
The crowd all week were incredible. It was so busy and there was a lot of noise. There was a long hack up to the dressage arena and we had to time it perfectly so
as not to overdo or underdo how much work the horses needed.
Yogi Breisner was the British chef d’equipe and Tracie Robinson and Kenneth Clawson were the chief British team trainers for dressage and showjumping. Tracie’s great just before you go into a test as she concentrates on getting the best out of you in the moment.
Noddy was never really chilled, but he loved a crowd. He adored being the centre of attention and thought everyone was there for him. There was always a moment in every test where he liked to tell you he was in control and he was constantly on the edge of doing something he wasn’t meant to be doing – each time, he’d break or anticipate, but then we’d pull it back together.
Zara Tindall (née Phillips) and Toytown at the 2005 Blenheim European Championships.
(Image credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images)
I remember flashes of the test – just the impression of being in the arena with the house behind – and that he was pretty good. Our only mistake was a blip in the rein-back. He was a great mover, expressive, with natural impulsion, so those marks came easily to him. But he could struggle with balance and then overcompensate.
We scored 38, which put us equal third alongside Frank Ostholt and Air Jordan, with their German team-mates Bettina Hoy and Ringwood Cockatoo out ahead on 31.3 and Pippa second on Ensign.
“I didn’t have much grip on the reins”
I definitely had the naivety of youth back then – I was 24 – and it’s an amazing feeling. You can never recapture it once you’ve lost it. I remember that first-time buzz of not knowing what might go wrong, just going out across country and getting on with it. It was definitely a precious moment.
I was excited for the cross-country. Toytown was so good in that phase and also quick. Although it was my senior team debut and first time at Blenheim, we all love going to these big events and a championship creates so much excitement. I was third out for the team, after Jeanette Brakewell with Over To You and William Fox-Pitt on Tamarillo, with Leslie Law the anchorman on Shear L’Eau.
The rain was insane. We were drenched. I went through three pairs of gloves in the warm-up and once I started, it was so heavy it was impairing my vision, but you just had to ignore that.
I knew Toytown so well and I was confident – he was the horse of a lifetime, the pinnacle of horses, and going out on him, you felt like you could take on anything. He didn’t enjoy the first two minutes – he was shaking his head because of the rain, with his ears flat back, and I was like, “You have to concentrate mate!”
I probably didn’t have much grip on the reins and rode with them longer than normal, but I let him get on with it. He banked the boxy tables at fence four, but I don’t remember any other dodgy moments and we came home inside the time. He even kept all his shoes on, surprisingly.
For a long time afterwards, whenever it rained, people would say, “Zara’s great in the rain,” and I was like, “It was one time…”
Zara Tindall (née Phillips) and Toytown battle the rain at the 2005 European Championships at Blenheim.
(Image credit: Trevor Meeks Photography)
“It was special to put that right”
The most pressure of the week was going into the showjumping. I was leading individually, but the Brits had had a good cross-country day, so as a team we had a comfortable lead.
The final phase was always stressful with Noddy. He was so good across country and quick over a fence, but that didn’t help in the showjumping. He did the bare minimum and wasn’t good at taking fences more slowly and making a shape.
When I first had him, he was so weak and we used to have about four down. We’d done a lot of work trying to build his strength. As he became older, he perhaps just wanted to keep everyone on their toes by having fences down. That was his character. I had to try to keep everything smooth during the round, rather than being too careful as that would backfire.
Zara Tindall (née Phillips) pilots Toytown to a clear to secure the individual European gold medal.
(Image credit: Tim Graham/Getty Images)
A rail down at Burghley and the young rider Europeans had cost us those wins. It was special to be able to put that right and nail a clear at a long-format championship event, alongside my peers and all those older guys who I looked up to over the years, with so many family and friends there.
Zara Tindall at the Blenheim European Championships: “Mum presented the medals”
You feel so much relief when you win, it takes away from the actual excitement. Now, I look back and think, “That was pretty cool” – at the time, you just fall in a heap and think, “Thank God for that.”
I remember Ginge was really strong on the lap of honour. We had him all bandaged and booted for the prize-giving as he was such a fragile person and we didn’t want him to do anything stupid. We had a big wreath – it felt like racing in America where they put laurels round the horses’ necks.
Zara Tindall (née Phillips) and Toytown with their medals after winning double gold at the 2005 European Championships at Blenheim.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mum presented the medals and it was a really nice family story that she had also been European champion, at Burghley in 1971.
My messages were off the charts and the lovely thing about it being close to home was we were back an hour after leaving Blenheim, so the whole team could be involved. When we got there, everyone was in the yard and we went down to my house. I’d been given some big bottles of Laurent Perrier champagne and we drank those, and a lot was drunk out of the cup! It was a great night.
Toytown never competed at Blenheim again, but we led the parade of champions to celebrate the event’s 25-year anniversary in 2015, when he was 22 years old.
I’ll definitely pop up to Blenheim this year to watch. My father will probably make me drive round the cross-country course with him. It’s nice that he’s been able to design a championship there towards the end of his career, with all his experience and knowledge.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
