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Zara Phillips on Toytown winning the European Championship at Blenheim in 2005 ZARA PHILLIPS will officially retire her “horse of a lifetime” Toytown on the final day of The Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park this Sunday.
Eighteen-year-old “Noddy” will be paraded in the main arena at 1.45pm on Sunday, so that his fans can pay tribute to the legendary chestnut horse with the distinctive white flecks that has provided Zara - and British eventing - with so many special moments over the last decade.
Phillips, who married England and Gloucester Rugby star Mike Tindall last Saturday, said: “Toytown is my horse of a lifetime and he has given me more than I could ever have dreamed of.
“It seemed fitting to give him a proper retirement ceremony at home, at Gatcombe Park.”
Noddy will enjoy his retirement hacking out in the Gloucestershire countryside and grazing at home on the Gatcombe estate where “he will be thoroughly spoiled”, according to his rider.
Noddy’s rise to stardom has been well documented. He was spotted as a gangly seven-year-old by Zara’s father, captain Mark Phillips, when his then-owner Meryl Winter was at a pony club instructor’s seminar. He was purchased a few months later.
Phillips and Noddy quickly struck up a relationship and she was crowned British Under-25 Champion at Bramham in 2002.
Twelve months later, the pair headed to Burghley for their first crack at a CCI**** – a competition that unfolded into one of the sport’s greatest ever showdowns.
Phillips and Noddy headed the eventual winners Pippa Funnell and Primmore’s Pride going into the final showjumping phase, but one rail down - in the phase that was unquestionably the only chink in his armour - relegated Noddy to second.
The result did, however, prove that the young combination was a serious force to be reckoned with.
A leg injury ruled Noddy out of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but he returned with a vengeance in 2005 to win team and individual gold medals at the Blenheim European Championships.
Twelve months later he was part of the British squad for the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, where, once again, he took the individual honours and the team won silver.
Noddy made his final team appearance at the Pratoni European Championships in 2007, where he finished sixth individually and helped Britain secure team gold.
The gelding accumulated 1421 British Eventing points in his illustrious career and, fittingly, completed his last ever event at “Little” Gatcombe in September 2009.
(CBS) Royal watchers got a sense of deja-vu over the weekend when the Duchess of Cambridge recycled two outfits from her wardrobe for Zara Phillips' wedding celebrations in Scotland.
(CBS/AP) LONDON - Zara Phillips says her wedding to rugby player Mike Tindall was amazing, but she is disappointed that she and her new husband are too busy to go on their honeymoon.