When Britain’s equestrian eventing team were presented with their silver medals on Tuesday, it was a family affair for one of them. 

The Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips, was congratulated by her mother, the Princess Royal, who herself competed in the eventing team of the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Appropriately the medals were presented against the backdrop of Queen’s House in Greenwich. 

The Royal family has strong links with horse riding.  Events such as the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire, and the Burghley Horse Trials in Lincolnshire have always attracted the royals, and the Queen in particular has always been an enthusiastic race-goer, as well as owning racehorses herself. 

Royal Ascot is perhaps the most famous - the June racing festival at the course west of London, where the hats are almost as important as the horses.  The Derby, held at Epsom racecourse in Surrey, is also an important date on the social calendar and was indeed the opening event of the central weekend of the Diamond Jubilee in June. 

Horseracing fans are actually spoilt for choice this week: as well as the Olympic events, Glorious Goodwood takes place at the Sussex course attached to the ancestral home of the Dukes of Richmond and Gordon, direct descendants of King Charles II. 

Zara Phillips frequently attends the prestigious Cheltenham Festival in March, and was first ‘spotted’ with future husband England rugby player Mike Tindall at the Gloucestershire racecourse – and recently carried the Olympic torch there. 

She has close associations with Cheltenham, having been ‘Club 18-24’ President of the Racecourse, and she played hockey for Cheltenham Ladies' College. The couple, who were married in Edinburgh, live in Cheltenham and are often seen at the Hollow Bottom  in Guiting Power, a pub bought by a racing industry consortium including Peter Scudamore and Nigel Twiston-Davies. 

Polo has also proved very popular, with the Prince of Wales, Princes William and Harry all enthusiastic players.  One of the most famous grounds is the Guards Club, in Windsor, which was founded by the Duke of Edinburgh.