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Princess Anne and Family

Zara Phillips to feature on online equestrian game 'Howrse'

<![CDATA[Zara Phillips is well known for her professional horse riding though from this winter, the eldest granddaughter of The Queen will become the official endorser of online equestrian game Howrse as the Ubisoft game comes to celebrate 50 million players around the world this year.
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Her involvement in the game was announced today and it is the first time Zara, who is due to give birth to her and husband Mike Tindall’s first child in a matter of days, has become involved with a video game franchise or appeared in a game herself. Ubisoft say she will also feature as part of upcoming advertising campaigns and in-store artwork for Howrse.
The game is set to include some of Zara’s own horses including High Kingdom, on whom she competed at the London 2012 Olympics – which players can buy and virtually own for themselves.
Zara’s character will be used to guide new players through the early stages of the game and tutorials with interactive prompts and feedback.
On her involvement with the game, Zara commented: “It’s great to be involved with a game that lets children and adults alike interact with horses, horse breeding and stable management on a daily basis, meeting like-minded enthusiasts through the game’s social features and sharing experiences.
“Not everyone has access to ride or care for horses regularly and Howrse provides a great opportunity to really understand more about how horses are raised and bred in an easy-to-access and fun way.”
Developed by Owlient, a Ubisoft studio, Howrse is a ‘horse breeding game in which players raise horses and ponies, take care of them, train and enhance their skills and abilities.’
A passion for horses is something which is shared throughout the Royal Family, other than most notably perhaps with her mother Princess Anne,  who herself competed in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. The Queen is known also as a keen horse enthusiast, still riding privately at the age of 87.
Since the beginning of her career in horse riding, Zara has individually and as part of a team enjoyed success at a variety of equestrian events and was voted 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year (she achieved gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games in 2006). In 2007 Zara was awarded an MBE for services to equestrianism, which was presented to her by her grandmother The Queen at Buckingham Palace.
photo credit: Ross Merritt Photography via photopin cc]]>