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The Royal Family has always been full of equestrians—most notably Queen Elizabeth II—and Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara Tindall, is no exception. The 43-year-old Olympian has been in Australia for the annual Magic Millions Races this month, and in a shocking video shared by the Daily Mail on Jan. 6, Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter narrowly avoided being trampled by a horse during a photoshoot.
In the video, Tindall, who is standing next to a horse and holding its reins on the beach while several others sit on horses next to her, is smiling and posing for a photo when the incident happens. A man is sitting on a horse behind her when the animal suddenly rears up and lunges, hitting the royal in the shoulder and knocking her to the side.
Luckily, Tindall was able to quickly move out of the way and escape being kicked or trampled, and the horse’s rider was able to get the animal under control without further incident. The royal appeared startled but not terribly shaken by the frightening scene, continuing to smile and pose for photos after the rogue horse calmed down.
Zara Tindall wearing a blue jersey and helmet while riding a brown horse in a polo match
The frightening near-miss comes just six months after Princess Anne was hospitalized for five days due to a horse-related injury. Although she has no memory of what happened, Buckingham Palace reported that Anne suffered from “minor injuries and a concussion” after an “incident at the Gatcombe Park estate.”
It’s a situation that left Zara “shaken to the core,” according to OK! at the time.
As for her trip to Australia, Tindall has served as a Magic Millions Racing Women Ambassador since 2012 and travels Down Under every year for the 10-day equestrian event and carnival along with her husband, former England Rugby player Mike Tindall.
The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast co-host Mike—who is said to share a bit of a bromance with Zara’s cousin, Prince William—has been enjoying the sun and summer weather in Australia this past week while providing some commentary on his wife’s equestrian skills, too.
