Eventer Zara Phillips Marries in Scotland

Zara Phillips marries Mike Tindall in Scotland

Weddings aren't usually big on this blog but this weekend British eventer Zara Phillips got married so I thought a little comment was in order. For anyone who doesn't know her - she is a former Eventing World Champion, BBC Sports Personality of the year in 2006, and one of the UK's Olympic hopes. Plus, although she plays this down as much as possible, she's the Queen of England's granddaughter.

Zara Phillips world champion on Toytown

Zara Phillips Badminton

Eventing is far from easy - she's broken a collarbone among other injuries - but it's the more the huge effort she makes to mostly pay her own way and avoid the celebrity-value of being born into the royal family that brings her in here. It would be so easy to sit back and let The Family take care of her, but she walks her own path.

Some friends saw her jump in Dublin at few months back at the Tattersalls International CIC where she rode really well but was forced to retire on Lord Lauries. So she's still looking out for that perfect horse to make an Olympic medal a reality. She is officially retiring Toytown this week at the Festival of British Eventing.

In the meantime, she's so committed that her honeymoon was put on hold - only two days allowed. It probably doesn't help that her now-husband plays rugby for England and has a wee competition - the World Cup - coming up soon. Training first all-round then.

In an interview here, she said: "She said: 'You go about choosing the horses you get on with. It is very much a partnership sport so you have to work on everything together to get the job done, that would be the most important way of looking for the right horse. Taking part in London would be a massive dream for me personally, the pinnacle of my career, because everyone wants to go to the Olympics in every sport, so it would be a massive honour."

Woman wins Hickstead Derby

The CarpetRight Derby at Hickstead has been won by a woman rider - Tina Fletcher for only the second time in the competition's 50-year history. Her horse's name? Promised Land.

Fletcher (UK) came second in 1991 and last year just lost out in the jump-off stages. Riding the same horse again, things went better for them. Interviewed for Horse and Country she said: "“You have to sit as quiet as a mouse on him. He lives in a field at home. I hardly ride him, he just hacks out. Graham bought him and I actually said to him, ‘I don’t know why you’re keeping that horse, he’s a lunatic’.” Only after Graham broke his shoulder was PL passed on to Tina, a lucky break? (sorry)

This is Fletcher speaking to H&C 

Adventure sports in Ireland

 It's a beautiful morning here in Ireland, summer may finally be here. And it's the start of a three-day weekend for us so lots of outdoor plans being made.

This is a tourism promo (from one of our many, many tourism boards) with shots of the adventure sports you can do in Ireland. Sometimes it's just good to be reminded of what is on our doorstep. Enjoy, and have a great weekend wherever you are! 

Jessica Kurten Wins Again

Jessica Kurten pic SportsIreland

Irish showjumper Jessica Kurten finished her year in style winning the Queen's Cup in Belgium on Tuesday and yesterday claiming the Rolex FEI World Cup qualifier.

Winning out an international field of 36 other riders, Kurten had to wait right until the end for former world champ Jos Lansink to make an uncharacteristic error leaving her top of the field. Riding (deep breath here) Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois, Kurten went clear in the first round and won-out in the jump-off by less than a second. Having come second in 2009 by a similar margin, it must be great to be on the other side this year.

Earlier in the week she swiped the Queen's Cup by an even smaller margin on Castle Forbes Cosma from a 15-horse field. 

Kurten wins in Belgium pic Inpho.ie

You can read up on her 2011 schedule on her site Jessica Kurten And with this inspirational end to the year, fans will be looking forward to seeing her in the remaining qualifiers for the World Cup in April next year.

Who will you be watching next year? 

Top Ten Inspiring Sports Women 2010

1922 Washington USA flickr

It's the time of year for polls and surveys and in that spirit I offer the women you loved the best on this blog. It's a tad unscientific as ISW only started at the end of May but Statcounter says these are the sports women you enjoyed reading about the most:

1. Caley Lewis, Australian Muay Thai fighter 
2. Zenyatta, American race-horse 
3. Jessica Kurten, Irish showjumper 
4. Marjan Kalhor, Iranian skier 
5. Melissa Ray, British Muay Thai fighter 
6. With this Ring - a film on Mary Kom and other Indian boxers
7. Dr Jessie Stone, American kayaker 
8. Irish Surf Kayak team - Aisling Griffin and Muireann Lynch 
9. Silken Laumann, Canadian rower  
10. Mischa Merz, Australian boxer 

You also rated this post 'Sweat and the City' on the four girls we'd really like to be. 

Did Statcounter miss any of your favourites?

Zenyatta We Still Love You

It's not often you see horse-racing journalists coming over all feminist but Zenyatta changed all that.

Unbeaten for 19 races, she sadly lost out in a thrilling finish to the Breeder's Cup Classic yesterday. The only mare on the track and probably the only mare to have been profiled in W magazine or on Oprah, she's been taking on the big boys and winning for years.

So close, so so close - nail-bitingly, on the edge of the seat, screaming in the stands and all those other great sports cliches.

But we love her anyway. You can read jockey Mick Smith's description on his blog Mike Smith Blog and watch the race. I defy you not to scream and will her on even when you know the result!

Jessica Kurten Showjumper

Jessica Kurten in action Paris Berc

Watching Irish athletes compete can sometimes be an international affair. Because it's a small place, many people move to find better training facilities or because their families are based overseas.

Irish rider Jessica Kurten lives in Germany with her family and horses but competes in the green. She was announced yesterday as part of the Nations Cup team in Holland for the next stage in the Mayden Superleague. Riding on Liberatas (great name for a horse) she is ranked 6th in the Rolex World Rankings and recently came 2nd in the Monaco Grand Prix.

It will be interesting to see if she travels back for some Irish shows this year.  A tough lady although I did read an interview where she claimed Dirty Dancing as her favourite film! You can read more about Kurten on her site Jessica Kurten

Would you move countries for your sport?