Business As Usual for Newlywed Zara Phillips Leading Up to Toytown's Official Retirement

Following their beautiful wedding in Edinburgh on the weekend, it was business as usual on Monday for Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall as they went back to their daily routines.

The happy couple decided to forego a traditional honeymoon as both needed to get back into training - Mike with the English Rugby team and Zara with her horses. 

Zara, who will break Royal tradition and keep her maiden name, is set to retire her legendary horse Toytown (pictured left with Zara) this Sunday 7 August on the final day of the Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park, which means she will need to find a new horse to take her to the 2012 Olympics.

 

Horse & Hound has reported that Toytown, the 18 year old former world and European champion will be paraded in the main arena at 1.45pm to allow his fans to pay tribute.

With numerous achievements over the past decade, Toytown is undoubtedly one of the best event horses of all time. A fabulous dressage and cross-country horse, he only showed a chink in his armour occasionally in the showjumping.

For many fans the major sadness is that his career was interrupted by injury, meaning he never had the chance to contest an Olympic Games, missing Athens 2004 and Hong Kong 2008.

Toytown will enjoy his retirement hacking out in the Gloucestershire countryside and grazing at home on the Gatcombe Estate, where "he will be thoroughly spoiled", according to his rider. 

 

Quick Links

• Read the full report about Mike and Zara and view photos at www.dailymail.co.uk
• Read more about Toytown and view photos at www.horseandhound.co.uk

(photo: www.horseandhound.co.uk)