On Sunday, Zara Phillips' grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, joined her mother, Princess Anne, in the VIP stands of the main stadium of Greenwich Park to watch her earn a respectable score in the dressage portion of her Olympic debut. With 46.10 penalty points for a slight mistake, Phillips landed in 24th out of 74 riders with cross-country and show jumping to go.
Greenwich Park - Site of Olympic horse events
The cross-country portion of the three-discipline Olympic eventing competition is designed to test horse and rider's endurance on the 3.5-mile course up and down the hills of Greenwich Park.
© 2012 by Gryffindor
In the cross country event, It is being reported that half-a-dozen riders have fallen off their mounts in the twisting, hilly 28-obstacle course midway through the competition. Australia's Christopher Burton, riding HP Leilani, led the pack after a clean round under the time limit.
The cross-country portion of the three-discipline eventing competition is designed to test horse and rider's endurance and guts - and the 3.5-mile course up and down the hills of Greenwich Park fit the bill. There were razor-sharp turns, blind 2-yard drops and tricky combination jumps - each with a very British story behind it.
The first few horses out Monday seemed to handle the course relatively well. Christopher Burton of Australia finished well under the set pace time of 10 minutes 3 seconds - even though, as the "pathfinder" for the team, he was merely supposed to be testing the course to report to subsequent team riders, not necessarily gunning for a top individual finish.
The course starts with a diamond-framed hedge in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's recently celebrated Diamond Jubilee. It ends with a giant, upside-down horseshoe flanked by two equine sculptures made entirely out of recycled horseshoes.
Phillips, a former world and European eventing champion who is 14th in line to the British throne, said she was thrilled represent Britain on home soil. Equestrian events are being staged at Greenwich Park, the oldest royal park in London, which dates from 1433. The main equestrian arena sits in front of Queen's House, a 17th-century building designed as a summer palace for Queen Anne of Denmark, the wife of James I.
Course designer Sue Benson said she was aiming for a course challenging enough for the most experienced riders but not so tough that lesser horses would wipe out, fearing the bad reputation that could give the sport on such a high-profile stage.
Benson also said she only expects one or two horses to make the time, given the hills and turns that will slow the horses down.