Zara Phillips makes history at Burghley horse trials (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Zara Phillips makes history at Burghley horse trials

HISTORY was made twice at Burghley Masterfoods International Three Day Event at the weekend, the first time when Pippa Funnell kept her nerve to scoop the £160,000 Rolex Challenge, having won Lexington, Badminton and Burghley in 2003.

But Pippa rode Prinmore's Pride into the show jumping ring knowing that she was behind Zara Phillips and Toytown on time, with Andrew Nicholson and Lord Killinghurst snapping at their heels, 0.8 penalties behind in third.

Pippa jumped clear and Zara had a fence down, dropping to second place, but having given a performance - especially on the cross country course where she was 23 seconds inside the allotted time.

It was a performance worthy of her mother, the Princess Royal, and her father, Captain Mark Phillips, both of whom are past Burghley winners.

In fact, Zara had already made history by being the first child of past winners to compete at Burghley - and she certainly kept up the family tradition.

Now the former Beaufort Pony Club member, who lives in a cottage on the Gatcombe estate, who won Bramham Horse Trials in June and followed this by an individual silver medal in the European Young Riders' Championships, must be in with a good chance of making next year's British Olympic team, and has said that she would love to go to Athens.

Third-placed Andrew Nicholson and Lord Killinghurst, less than one penalty point behind Zara, also have local connections in that Lord Killinghurst is jointly owned by Tetbury-based Robin and Nicola Salmon together with Owen Moore.