By Christopher Leake
Last updated at 12:14 AM on 26th October 2008

 
Zara Phillips breaks her collarbone as horror fall kills favourite horse

Zara Phillips was ‘in pain and upset’ last night after breaking her collarbone in a riding accident which claimed the life of one of her favourite horses.

The Queen’s grand-daughter was riding Tsunami II in a cross-country event at Pau near the French Pyrenees when the mare fell at the relatively easy 15th fence and broke its neck.

Zara, 27, who is 11th in line to the throne, was taken to a local hospital, given strong painkillers by medical staff and had her arm put in a sling to support her broken bone.

Impact: Zara took an awkward tumble from Tsunami II in Yorkshire last year

She returned to the competition ground at the HSBC-sponsored three-day event, called Les Etoiles de Pau, to discover that the horse she has ridden for four years had been put down.

Zara, the European and world eventing champion, made her way back to Britain last night to be reunited with her boyfriend, England rugby player Mike Tindall.

A close friend said: ‘The horse hit the fence and broke its neck. Zara fell off and broke her collarbone. She was taken for professional medical treatment at a nearby hospital and is pretty drugged up with painkillers.

‘She is in quite a lot of pain and is very upset about the death of Tsunami, who was one of her favourites.’

Zara came off the same horse in June last year when it nosedived over a 7ft fence at the Bramham International Horse Trials near Wetherby, North Yorkshire. Though she struck the ground with a sickening thud to her neck, Zara was only dazed and Tsunami cantered away.

At the same event in the Pyrenees a year ago, Zara, daughter of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, came off another horse, Red Baron, and ended up in a water-filled ditch.

Before the fall: Zara on Tsunami II yesterday, just before the accident

A spokesman for Les Etoiles de Pau last night confirmed that Zara’s horse, Tsunami II, had been put down and that Zara had been ‘badly injured’.

After the fall, the horse was immediately transported to the course veterinary centre, where it was found that one of its neck vertebrae was fractured. Vets immediately took the decision to put her down.

‘The horse fell after jumping over a small hurdle of laurel. It was the easiest obstacle on the course,’ spokesman Pascal Sayous added. ‘Zara broke her collarbone. Her shoulder is in a very bad way. We’re waiting for a full medical report.

‘The horse broke a vertebrae in the neck. This is terrible for a horse, it cannot recover from this. The vets decided to put the horse down.

‘It was a very ordinary accident, but it’s not common to see such a terrible outcome. In the 20 years that I’ve been doing this job, we’ve only had to put down two horses, including this one.

‘Zara has never been lucky in Pau; she always seems to fall when she comes here. It’s a great pity, because she’s a great rider.

‘Zara’s parents are normally with her, either her father or mother, but I haven’t seen them this year.’

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Article: HERE

Sat Oct 25, 5:15 PM ET

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Zara Phillips, the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, seen here in 2007, fell from her horse and injured her shoulder at an international event here on Saturday, the organisers said.

(AFP/File/Tiziana Fabi)










PREVIOUSLY FEATURED ENTRY ON THIS BLOG; Zara and Tsunami II taking a bad fall:


http://blog.luciolepress.com/search.aspx?q=zara%20philips&sc=t&dt=3m&al=none

Horsewoman Zara Philips takes a serious-looking fall from her horse, Ardfield Magic Star, at the Burghley Horse Trials; both said to be unhurt

By Lizzie Smith
Last updated at 7:07 PM on 06th September 2008

The moment Zara Phillips was flung headlong from her horse

She may be one of the most accomplished horsewomen in the world but 2008 just hasn't been Zara Phillip's year.

After being ruled out of the Olympics, her latest mishap was a spectacular tumble from her mount during a competition.

The Queen's grand-daughter was flung headlong from Ardfield Magic Star, drawing gasps of horror from onlookers.

Horror: Zara Phillips's horse begins to fall

Luckily, both Zara, 27, and her horse escaped serious injury.

But the incident will bring home just how dangerous the sport can be.

Two of Zara's close friends have died after being involved in riding accidents in recent years.

Zara, the daughter of Princess Anne, was taking the 25th jump during cross country day at the Burghley Horse Trials in Stamford when the accident happened.

The crowd gasp in horror as Zara is flung into the air from her falling horse

It is not the first time Zara and Ardfield Magic Star have taken a tumble.

The last occasion, however, was far more serious

Four years ago she was knocked unconscious in a fall from the same horse, Ardfield Magic Star, at a three-day event at Lulworth Castle in Dorset.

And in June last year she crash-landed on her neck and shoulders after her horse, Tsunami II, stumbled over a 7ft fence at the Bramham International Horse Trials near Wetherby, North Yorkshire.

The two horses are among seven she keeps at the Gatcombe estate in Gloucestershire where she lives with her boyfriend, England rugby player Mike Tindall.

The horse and Miss Phillips hit the ground hard

In November last year a close friend of Miss Phillips was killed during an equestrian competition when the horse she was riding stumbled and crushed her.

Eleanor Brennan, 21, one of Britain's most promising young three-day event riders, was crushed when her horse Mr Barnabus stumbled at a jump and tumbled on top of her during an event in Florida.

And in August 2006 Miss Phillips' close friend Sherelle Duke, 28, was killed when her falling horse crushed her during a competition.

Superman actor, the late Christopher Reeve, was paralysed after falling from a horse in 1995 during a three-day event in the US.

Dirty but unhurt: Both Zara and her horse seemed to have avoided injury

Article: HERE