Zara Tindall Shows Royal Moms Have the Same Struggles as the Rest of Us With "Eye-Rolling" Pre-Teen Behavior
Princess Anne's daughter opened up about her equestrian career and parenting future riding star Mia, 12, in a new podcast.
Zara Tindall has followed in mom Princess Anne’s equestrian footsteps, and now there’s a new member of the family on the competition scene. Zara’s 12-year-old daughter, Mia Tindall, took part in the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials for the first time in September, and Zara shared one story about riding with her daughter on the “Talk Horse” podcast.
"I took Mia for a jump the other day. Mia and her two cousins,” Zara shared in part of the episode, released October 7. “And then I said, 'To me' or something, she just rolled her eyes and went 'Urgh.’ I was like, 'I literally said the same thing to the other guys. They didn't roll their eyes at me.’”
Zara, who won silver in the 2012 Olympics, admitted that she was the same at Mia’s age. "I think I was probably like that with my mother and father too, I'm sure they'll tell you that," she added.
Zara Tindall and Mia Tindall attend The William Hill Showcase horse racing meeting at Cheltenham Racecourse in October 2025.
Princess Anne’s first husband, Captain Mark Phillips, who is Zara’s dad, is an Olympic gold medal-winning horseman, and Zara shared that he’s always been “tough” on her.
"Barely you would get a 'Yeah that was good' out of him, he was a tough coach,” she said, adding, “I try not to be quite that bad with my own kids."
Zara reflected on growing up with parents who were involved in the equestrian world, explaining that she had to be very hands-on.
“My mum and dad's head girl at the time was like a Rottweiler,” Zara said. “We had to do everything with them. We had to clean our tack, muck them out. And if we didn't do it, we were in serious trouble." "She was amazing though,” Zara added. “Put us in our place to learn about the discipline of having horses."
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Mia cheers during the 2026 New Year's Day Racing Meet at Cheltenham Racecourse.
Zara explained that there was "a family love for horses" and it wasn't an interest that was "forced" on her since both of her parents were Olympians. "I don't remember my parents going, 'Come on let's go and do this,' and us not wanting to go," she said.
Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.
Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.
Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.