Zara Tindall's kind gesture that helps Prince George and Princess Charlotte grow in confidence

Zara Tindall is keen to help Prince George and Princess Charlotte with their cute hobby

rince George of Cambridge attends The Wimbledon Men's Singles Final
(Image credit: Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty)

Zara Tindall, cousin to Prince George and Princess Charlotte, has reportedly lent her Shetland pony to the young royals, giving them more confidence in their riding skills, and mother Kate Middleton couldn't be happier.


Prince George, who recently appeared at Wimbledon and wore a suit for this adorable reason, is said to be a big fan of riding, just like many of the royals are.

As an Olympic equestrian, Zara, who made this sweet admission about her grandmother the Queen last year, is keen to help both Prince George and Princess Charlotte learn how to ride - and has lent her Shetland pony to the young royals, giving them more confidence as a result.

Zara Tindall attends the Tusk Ball 2022 at the Natural History Museum in honour of African conservation on May 19, 2022 in London, England.

(Image credit: Antony Jones/Getty Images)

A royal source said, "William and Kate were really keen to get George riding – it's something all the royals do and the whole family adores animals.

“But obviously he's only small so they didn't want to put him on a big horse. They asked Zara if they could use one of her Shetland ponies and he's been learning to ride on one of those."

It's not the first time we've heard about the royal children's riding hobby. Equestrian triple-gold medallist Natasha Baker recalled a conversation she had with the Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace last year, about Charlotte's newest fascination.

Baker said, "I asked her how the children were, and she said Charlotte is really enjoying her riding which is great to hear, and I said we may see her here on a line-up in 20 years time."

It is believed that all three royal children began to hone their riding skills at Amner Hall, their home in Norfolk, during the coronavirus lockdowns. Prince William was said to be 'thrilled' that his children are taking on the hobby. Especially as his grandmother, The Queen, is also an avid rider.

The Queen had her very first horse riding lesson aged just three years old. As a child, she was then given her first horse, a Shetland pony named Peggy, at age four, which she was riding solo by the age of six.

Zara Tindall revealed why she felt so lucky in lockdown - and it was mostly down to her horses.

In a royal special edition of Horse & Hound magazine, Zara said, "Those of us who have been able to spend time with our horses during lockdown are so lucky - a lot of people haven't and that's incredibly tough for them."

Sarah Finley

Sarah is a freelance journalist - writing about the royals and celebrities for Woman & Home, fitness and beauty for the Evening Standard and how the world of work has changed due to the pandemic for the BBC. 

 

She also covers a variety of other subjects and loves interviewing leaders and innovators in the beauty, travel and wellness worlds for numerous UK and overseas publications. 

 

As a journalist, she has written thousands of profile pieces - interviewing CEOs, real-life case studies and celebrities - interviewing everyone from Emma Bunton to the founder of Headspace.