Zara Who? British event rider/royalty denied access to an equestrian event

Official didn’t recognize her in her “very ordinary little car.” That’s what happens you leave your tiara at home, Zara.

In one of the more hilarious news bits of yesterday, British media told the story of how eventer/granddaughter of the Queen Zara Phillips was denied access to an equestrian event when an official failed to recognize her. Being royalty and a one-time BBC sports personality of the year, the faux pas might be akin to, say, not letting Peyton Manning into a football game because he forgot to bring his ID.

Zara was at the event to watch her mother the Princess Ann’s horse Middle Watch, which she had trained. Her mother, who had arrived separately, had her pass–but the official, Tim Hinton, wasn’t having it.

Hinton told the Daily Mail, “I feel rather embarrassed and I have had a lot of ribbing since. But it was raining and she was wearing a headband. I just saw this face at a car window and asked for her pass and, of course, when she said her mother had it, I had no idea she was referring to Princess Ann.”

He finally relented when an assistant pointed out his error. “Even then it took a second or two for the penny to drop and then I just said rather lamely, ‘Well, you’d better come in then.'”

Thanks to JER for the tip.

Photos: Wikipedia Commons.