Zara Tindall issues emotional statement on career choice: 'This is why I do it!'

The champion equestrian, along with her mother The Princess Royal, is the most enthusiastic supporter of jump racing among the Royal Family.

Speaking to Sky Sports Racing before the race, Zara said "A Little Something" would be the last racehorse she would breed.

“She is a nice mare,” she said. “She’s sweet, isn’t she? She jumps well. She just needs to get a bit braver.

"I like schooling them. I enjoy that. They have got to jump well and still want to gallop fast."

The 43-year-old appeared to get quite emotional, before adding: "I never get to do it enough so it’s nice to actually make it work. This is why we do it, isn’t it?”

Zara was crowned eventing world champion in 2006 as well as BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

She was later awarded an MBE in 2007 and was a member of the British team which won eventing silver at the 2012 London Olympics.

Since 2020, Zara has been a member of the Cheltenham Racecourse Committee and regularly attends the Cheltenham Festival.

On Monday, she visited Hereford to watch five-year-old "A Little Something" have her third start under rules, and second over hurdles.

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She bred the mare from the stallion Dartmouth, who was a Royal Ascot winner when he raced for Zara’s late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Zara has had two wins from the handful of horses which have run in her name since 2016.

Her husband, the former England rugby star Mike Tindall, enjoyed big race success as part-owner of Monbeg Dude, winner of the Welsh National in 2013.