Zara Tindall has revealed she’s trying to be less critical with her children than her father was.
Speaking on the Talk Horse podcast, she reflected on having Mark Phillips as her riding coach.
Zara and Mike Tindall married in 2011 and share three children: two daughters and a son.
Zara Tindall explains her approach to parenting her children
For Zara, coaching her own children means trying not to repeat her father’s tougher methods.
She explained: “He was a tough coach, but I’m trying not to be quite that bad with my own kids.”
Her daughters are already taking to horse riding. However, passing on advice hasn’t always been straightforward.
Zara recalled taking her eldest daughter jumping alongside her brother Peter Phillips’ daughters. During the outing, her eldest rolled her eyes at something Zara said.
It was a reaction she recognised herself.
“I think I was probably like that with my mother and father too,” she admitted.
Zara Tindall recalls father Mark Phillips’ ‘critical’ coaching
Riding runs through Zara’s family, with both Princess Anne and Mark having represented Great Britain at the Olympics.
Zara followed them into the sport, winning silver with Britain’s eventing team at London 2012. She also won individual gold at the 2006 World Equestrian Games.
But learning from her accomplished parents came with expectations.
“My father was quite critical,” she recalled. Zara explained that positive feedback rarely came from Mark. That left her “striving” to earn his approval.
The responsibilities extended well beyond lessons and competitions. Despite being Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter, Zara was expected to handle the practical work involved in keeping horses.
“We had to do everything with them. We had to clean our tack, muck them out,” Zara recalled.
She said failing to do those jobs meant getting into serious trouble.
Zara on growing up without a royal title
Elsewhere in the conversation, Zara discussed another aspect of her childhood: growing up without a royal title.
She told hosts Pippa Funnell and Tristan Phipps that she appreciated avoiding the expectations associated with one.
Remembering childhood with her brother Peter, she said: “We were just part of the group, just having fun.”
Read more: Prince Harry reveals his strict rule with wife Meghan Markle
Meanwhile, Mike has shared his own account of the family’s sporting spirit.
Speaking at the Henley Literature Festival, he said their children had inherited their parents’ athletic and competitive tendencies. Apparently, that competition can extend to bedtime.
“Even if it’s just a race upstairs to bed, there will be ankle taps,” he shared.
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