Zara Tindall scores 39.4 in dressage test at the Cornbury House Horse Trials

Zara Tindall, granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II competed in the inaugural Cornbury House Horse Trials in Oxfordshire on Friday. The 39-year-old equestrian participated in the dressage event riding Happenstance.

The retired England rugby captain Mike Tindall's wife wore a navy and red dressage uniform. Zara Tindall seemed to be in her elements as she rode around the course, set against the stunning backdrop of the woodlands of the Wychwood Forest. The royal equestrian bagged herself a score of 39.4 in her dressage test.

Zara will participate in the show jumping events on her horse Showtime on Saturday and Sunday during the three-day event. Apart from the queen's granddaughter, other British stars at the event included William Fox-Pitt and Laura Collett. They faced competition from the likes of Australian Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy, Chinese Olympian Alex Hua Tian and New Zealand husband-and-wife team Tim and Jonelle Price.

"Launching a brand-new horse trials in 2020 has been an extraordinary and complicated process, but we have always been utterly determined that we should not compromise our vision of a truly top-class event, said event president David Howden.

"We have invested considerably in producing the very best conditions for horses, riders and owners, and believe that they should be properly rewarded for winning what are going to be extremely competitive classes," he added.

This year due to the coronavirus pandemic and government regulations in place, Cornbury House Horse Trials is not open to spectators. However, the show jumping and cross-country action from every class is being live-streamed on its website and Facebook page. Besides, the prize money has also been affected as the winner of the feature CCI3*-S class took home £2,500, while the winner of the winner of the CCI2*-S class was granted £1,250.

Zara has followed in her mother Princess Anne's footsteps with a successful equestrian career. The mother-of-two won a silver medal as a member of the Great Britain Eventing team at the London 2012 Olympics, which was presented to her by Anne.