CNN Equestrian published an interview with Zara Phillips following her team silver medal performance at this year’s World Equestrian Games, eight months after she gave birth to her first child Mia. She talks about the new experience of motherhood, riding again after giving birth and her desire to win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
On getting back in the saddle: “It was harder that I thought it was going be. I had a lot of friends who said, ‘Don’t come back too quickly.’ I sat on a horse at about five weeks afterwards for about 10 minutes, teaching all my muscle groups again what they were doing. I’ve never not ridden for that long.”
On being a new mom: “I’ve really enjoyed it. In a funny kind of way, it’s like having another High Performance horse on your hands. You’ve got to get them in a schedule and feed. I wasn’t maternal at all before I had Mia, but I’m lucky, she’s really good.”
On winning silver in London: “To be able to come away with a medal was incredible, but we wanted gold, and we probably should have got it. So we were a little bit glum after. … I’d definitely like to go back and try to change the color.”
You can watch the full interview above and read CNN’s full story on Zara’s return to riding here.
[Zara Phillips targets Olympic gold with baby Mia by her side]
