A look back from my archives: An introduction to Mark Phillips

by Nancy Jaffer | Feb 19, 2023

Over the eons that I’ve written about the horse industry, showing, eventing, racing and other equestrian sports, I’ve accumulated stacks of programs, orders of go, course diagrams, photos, magazine articles and newspaper clippings. Lots and lots. Boxes and boxes of them.

Some (not even all!) are jammed into a storage locker, where I’ve started to go through the imposing piles of paper. This journey down memory lane begins with the 1970s and runs on through Olympics, world championships, World Cup finals and other competitions from around the globe. I’ve rediscovered pieces about people and horses, some well-remembered but long gone now, and a sort of historical perspective on what’s happening today.

As I culled the archives, I found so many interesting old stories that I decided some should be shared with my readers now and then, before the paper they’re on crumbles into dust. A few of these articles may be familiar; others could offer a new viewpoint.

I’m starting with a 1985 piece on eventer Mark Phillips, written when the Olympic gold medalist who won Badminton and Burghley came to the U.S. Equestrian Team headquarters in Gladstone, N.J.,to give a clinic for American eventers. It may seem a bit quaint, but remember this was a different era and quite a big deal at the time because of his connection with Britain’s royal family.

Here’s the original of the 1985 story that introduced Mark Phillips to many of my readers.

In 2023, we all know Mark as the former chef d’equipe for the U.S. eventing team, and a sought-after course designer (he put together the cross-country route for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games and many other tests here and in Europe). His daughter, Zara (Tindall), who was only four when this story was written, went on to become European Eventing Champion and subsequently World Champion, earning an Olympic team silver medal to boot.

Mark Phillips consults with U.S. team member Boyd Martin in 2017. (Photo © 2017 by Nancy Jaffer)

But  38 years ago, that was yet to come and the general public knew Mark Phillips best as the man who married Great Britain’s Princess Anne. Below is the story in readable form (don’t try to make out the words in the clipping above–you’ll strain your eyes.) The article was written primarily for a non-horse-oriented audience:  Here it is–

June 16, 1985: Yank Equestrians jump at chance for some royal lessons

The world at large knows Capt. Mark Phillips as the good-looking fellow who married Great Britain’s Princess Anne.

In the international equestrian community, however, Phillips is fa­mous for his competitive stature. His dossier includes four wins at the world’s most prestigious Three-Day Event and membership on the British teams that won gold medals in the Three-Day Event at the Munich Olym­pics and the World Championships.

He also has a reputation for good sportsmanship, and it is the desire to share his approach to riding with others that has brought him to New Jersey for a few days.

Phillips is giving a helping hand to up-and-coming American eventers at the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Training Center in Gladstone.

There are those who might consider that aiding the opposition. Even Phillips cheerily refers to the American three-day riders as “sort of traditional enemies” of the British in the sport.

“America has always been the team to beat as far as we’re concerned,” he notes.

But Phillips is quick to add, “If you can’t help somebody in sport, well … ,” and the unspoken words are a dismissal of those too mean-spirited to share their knowledge.

Three-Day Eventing is enormously popular in Britain, where the combina­tion of dressage, riding over obstacles cross-country and jumping fences in· a stadium setting can draw 100,000 spectators.

Ironically, though the U.S. has won the eventing team gold medals in the last two Olympics, the sport has a much lower profile here.

That doesn’t make it any less of a passionate pastime for its practitioners, however. Their ranks include the 15 riders who came from all over the East and Midwest over the weekend to work with Phillips. He volunteered for the duty and did not charge the team for his presence, considering it “an honor” to be at the elegant Gladstone facility.

“So much history in equestrian sports and success has come out of this place,” he explained.

Phillips even admitted to a bit of I nervousness before arriving.

“Americans are more technical than we are,” he observed. “We tend to ride more by the seat of our pants.”

The riders got along well with the informal Phillips, partying with him at a local restaurant one night and eagerly seeking his opinion on their horsemanship.

“I work on my own at home, so this is particularly valuable to me,” said 23-year-old Nick Marnye of Kentucky after finishing a schooling session with his palomino quarter horse, Good as Gold.

Phillips liked Marnye’s mount, and that was a boost to the young rider.

“It certainly gives you a little more confidence,” said Marnye, adding he appreciated Phillips’ attitude.

“I know he’s here to help me, not destroy me,” added Marnye, who had some previous instruction that rendered the opposite effect.

Indeed, Phillips in action is the essence of encouragement. Attired in boots, breeches, an argyle sweater and flat wool cap, Phillips instinctively goes through the proper movements-holding imaginary reins, straightening the shoulders as he instructs from the ground.

“Thank you very much indeed. Excellent,” he says with enthusiasm time after time, as riders successfully use suggested techniques and obtain the desired response from their animals.

Phillips believes in pushing the positive.

“If you take the top 10 riders in the world, what’s the difference on the day (of competition)?” he asked.

“Confidence. If confidence is high, you go and do it. If you say, ‘I’m no bloody good,’ you give up.”

Though he is 36, giving up is something Phillips himself has yet to seriously consider. His sport is a dangerous one. A tiring 1,100-pound horse who takes a misstep at an immovable cross-country jump can mean bone-crushing disaster for a rider.

But the father of two is looking ahead to the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and hoping to be a part of the scene there.

“I’ve had two or three really bad years, when horses I thought would come through, haven’t,” said Phillips.

“But I won the Novice Championship last year with Distinctive and I’ve got two or three others I’m very excited about.

If these prospects don’t pan out, he conceded, “That might be the time to call it a day and spend time teaching.”

As Phillips has acknowledged in the past, “There’s no fame shorter than sporting fame” and he accepts the fact that the moment will come when the trophies will go home with his students, rather than himself.

He teaches all over the world, doing instructional clinics in Australia and New Zealand regularly, and ranging as far afield as Japan. He hopes to do more such work in America after breaking the ice this time.

And it’s possible there may be more opportunities like the commentating stint he handled for Australian television at the Olympics.

“I had never done it before and I was a real novice,” he admitted. “But people wrote and said they enjoyed it. That gave me a bit of a buzz. Maybe all the effort was worthwhile.”

Eventing sponsorship in Great Britain is quite the thing, and Phillips is backed by Land Rover. The firm is committed through 1988 to his “Range Rover” team, which includes a contingent of young riders he is bringing along.

Like all top competitors, Phillips often yearns for someone to give him a few pointers, just as he helps others.

Though he has had some dressage coaching, there is little time for him to get assistance. During his stay here, he worked on jumping techniques with retired USET Show Jumping Coach Bertlan de Nemethy of Far Hills.

At home, Princess Anne occasionally lends a hand, if asked. A top eventer herself, she rode on the 1976 British Olympic team, while Phillips was the reserve member there.

Since the birth of the Phillips’ children, Peter, 7, and Zara, 4, Princess Anne has been concentrating primarily on events for novice horses.

But the mutual eventing aid comes only “as and when required,” Phillips said, noting, “It’s like a husband and wife can’t teach each other to drive. There’s nothing worse than help from a husband or wife when you don’t want it.”

Phillips added he and Princess Anne “interchange a bit” and occasionally swap horses. “Sometimes the feminine touch works better with a horse, and sometimes the male strength is better. Different horses react differently,” he commented.

Phillips doesn’t feel that being married to Princess Anne has affected his position in eventing.

“Sport doesn’t do anybody any favors. It’s no respecter of rank or anything else,” said Phillips. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a poor boy or a rich boy once you get in the arena.”

Besides, he noted, before he was married he had won Badminton, the biggest annual event on the Three-Day calendar, several times and ridden in the Olympics.

“Within the sport, I was already a name,” he pointed out. “Once you’ve got to the top, you’re always a name.”