June 13, 2008 — Britain’s Zara Phillips is out of this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games after her horse Toytown suffered a soft-tissue leg injury during training in Gloucestershire
Phillips and 15-year-old Toytown won the individual eventing gold medal at the 2006 World Equestrian Games.
“I am very disappointed not to have the opportunity to ride at the Olympic Games and feel that Toytown deserved his chance to go,” she said in a statement. “However, with horses these things happen and we still have a very strong team, I wish them every success.”
A reserve horse and rider combination will be selected by the British Olympic Association, after nomination from the British Equestrian Federation, to replace Phillips.
The 27-year-old is the eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. Phillips’ mother is Princess Anne, the queen’s only daughter, and her father, Captain Mark Phillips, coaches the U.S. eventing team.
