Zara Tindall reveals she has gone part-time in her equestrian career so she can care more for her three children and says she makes ‘better decisions’ about her work

Zara Tindall, British Olympic equestrian champion and eldest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, has revealed that her professional riding career is ‘now very part-time’ so she can spend more time with her three young children.

In an interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly magazine Zara – who won silver in a team event for Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics – revealed how her approach to competitive riding changed after having children.

Zara and her husband Mike Tindall – ex-rugby player and former reality show contestant – are parents to Mia, nine, and Lena, five, and son Lucas, two.

“I work very part-time now,” she told the magazine. ‘I only have four horses, so hopefully I have enough time to look after my children and still compete. I hope I make better decisions. I’m certainly not going to everything now.’

Zara, King Charles’ niece, explained: ‘When I had fifteen horses I was everywhere and away every weekend, but now I choose a lot [events] around the kids and holidays and trying to be around as much as possible.”

Known as much for her sporting prowess as her sartorial choices, Zara attends equestrian events all over the world, both as a formidable athlete when she competes and as a trendsetting fashionista when she is a spectator.

Her illustrious career includes gold at the 2005 European Eventing Championships and silver at the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

Zara has also previously been crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year and has been nicknamed the Royal Olympian.

On the subject of motherhood, Zara spoke candidly about her struggle to get her body back into shape after having children. She described pregnancy as a ‘shock to your system’ and how your body changes so much.

She told the magazine that in addition to the natural aging process, childbirth was “a huge thing for women,” and for her, the added dimension of being a professional sportswoman meant that some of the physical changes took her by surprise.

For example, Zara admitted that it took her a long time to realize that she could no longer maintain the same regimen she had when she was younger, such as the foods she ate and the types of exercises she did.

But the hard lessons she learned, Zara said, will serve her well as she teaches her children.

She said she will teach her daughters to constantly monitor how their bodies are doing and changing, Zara said, because women “definitely” have it harder than men, referring to the various hormonal changes the female body goes through, such as menopause .

Zara has reduced the number of horses she owns from fifteen to four to free up more time for her children. She is pictured above with Mia Tindall (far left), Mike Tindall (left) and Lena Tindall (far right)

Zara said she will ‘always’ feel guilty when she is away from her children. She is pictured above with her youngest child Lucas at the Festival of British Eventing last year

Despite competing in fewer professional equestrian events so she can spend more time with her family, Zara says she will probably ‘always’ feel guilty when she is away from the children, but she has come to accept this as part of motherhood.

Earlier this year, Zara’s husband Mike interviewed her as part of his new YouTube series called Mike Drop, and she opened up about her feelings of “mom guilt.”

“Mentally you feel guilty as a mother who leaves your child to do something else,” she said in a video interview.

‘You feel guilty. I felt guilty all the time. Even just go for a drive. I just thought: that’s an aspect of my life now.’

In a glimpse into their royal family life, Zara also said in the interview with her husband that she constantly worried about whether Mike was taking good care of the children.

“I had to call you every day to make sure you were doing the right thing,” she said.