ZARA'S CHANCE TO JOIN BRITAIN'S ROYAL CONNECTION

ZARA PHILLIPS will put her emotional problems behind her this weekend when she bids to become the first Royal to represent Great Britain in sport since her mother, Princess Anne, almost three decades ago.

Zara rides in the final elimination event on Sunday for next month's Young Riders Event Championships at Wiendorf in Austria.

She will ride alongside 11 other hopefuls at Henbury Hall in Cheshire, hoping to clinch a place in Britain's three-day eventing team which will be named on Tuesday.

It will be her first time back in the public eye since her much- publicised break-up with her former boyfriend, the National Hunt jockey Richard Johnson.

She moved out of the house they shared together and now lives with friends in Gloucestershire. Zara will be hoping to secure a place on the four-strong team which Britain will send to the Championships. Britain will also send two riders in the individual event plus an unspecified number of reserves.

Twenty-five years ago Princess Anne won silver medals in three- day eventing in both the individual and team disciplines at the European Championships in Germany. The following year she represented Great Britain at the Montreal Olympics.

Zara's father, Mark Phillips, won a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

On Sunday Zara will ride Toytown, a nine-year-old chestnut gelding, which was spotted for her by her father. She recently won the Under-25 Championship at Bramham, Yorkshire, on the horse, although the pairing failed to impress in their next outing, finishing 20th out of 36 at Lulworth Castle.

Although Zara has never spoken publicly of her equestrian prowess, it is believed that she started riding as a five-year-old when her parents bought her a pony.

Her chances of making the British team will probably depend on her performance this weekend in the dressage, which is viewed as her weakest event. Her fort is the cross-country in which she has impressed observers.

A close family friend said: "For determination and courage you'd put your money on Zara because she's bred to stay."

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