Zara Tindall Talks Horses, Riding and Shared Family Passion: 'There's Always Horse Conversation' (Exclusive)

“Any equestrian sport, that partnership between the horse and rider, or an owner and the horse is, it's incredible,” the pro rider tells PEOPLE

Zara Tindall is saddled up for a successful spring!

The decorated equestrian, 41, spent the weekend in the U.S. competing in the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by MARS Equestrian, which draws the world's top riders to the heart of horse country for a thrilling triathlon of dressage, cross-country and showjumping. Princess Anne's daughter competed in the elite 5* level astride Class Affair, a 14-year-old chestnut gelding affectionately nicknamed Socks, and exclusively spoke with PEOPLE about the competition and her fire for the sport — a passion that's run in the royal family for generations.

"I always love coming here. It's such an amazing show. We're so lucky, it has a fantastic stadium and the cross country's beautiful grounds," Zara tells PEOPLE of being back at the Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. She was last at the show in 2017, where she won third place in the irons with High Kingdom.

The horse and rider combination is critical in three-day eventing, where duos switch from dance-like dressage to racing over rugged jumps — peppered with hills, drops and ponds! — in cross-country to gracefully clearing four-foot fences in stadium showjumping. Zara says that Class Affair's dressage test "wasn't his PB [personal best]" but that she planned to "attack the cross country and have a great ride."

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"Just need to think of him slightly differently to other horses I've ridden here in the fact that I need to maybe take a slightly different route at some places and just make sure we get the job done," the professional equestrian says of her approach. The pair ultimately finished 15th out of 39 horse-and-rider combinations from five countries.

An Eventing World Champion and silver-medal-winning Olympian (cinched in eventing at the London 2012 Olympics with Team Great Britain), among other accolades, Zara says it's a joy to continue to ride at the top level today. On the idea of another Games, she says, "I love riding internationally for your country, but it depends on the horse you've got and at the moment, we've got so many amazing riders. So you really have to be consistent and on top of your game to get back in there. But for me, riding at the top level is fantastic anyways. So if that's where it's at, that's great."

A love of horses runs deep in the royal family, and their late matriarch Queen Elizabeth was a great horsewoman. Zara says her happiest family memories around horses are all about that bond.

"I think just the passion and love for horses that's been passed down through our family. We're very lucky to have them in our lives. Being able to do it every day is incredible and it's such an amazing sport," Zara tells PEOPLE. "Any equestrian sport, that partnership between the horse and rider, or an owner and the horse is, it's incredible. We're very lucky to work with horses."

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Looking towards the next generation, Zara says that she's introduced her three kids (daughters Mia, 9, and Lena, 4, and son Lucas, 2, whom she shares with husband Mike Tindall) to her sport, adding that "both my nieces ride and they're really into it at the moment."

From horse care to competitions and everyday training, equestrians always have much to discuss. Luckily, Zara's parents Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips both rode to the international championship level and remain involved in the horse world today.

"Our horse are in our family, so there's always discussions about performances and things like that. There's horses in her life and she does a bit of breeding as well. So there's always horse conversation going on," Zara tells PEOPLE.

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Reflecting on the unique nature of her demanding discipline, the pro rider says cross-country is her favorite of eventing's three tests.

"I think we as event riders probably all do eventing because of the cross country. That's the fun bit," she explains. "It's really where your partnership is shown how strong it is. That's why we work day in, day out with them, so we can get [the horses] to do all three phases. And that's what it's all about."

"But some horses are obviously stronger at some phases than others, like riders. The trick is to be able to get all three phases as strong as possible. But always remember that there's always another day. So even if it didn't go quite as well the day before, you can try and make amends the next day," Zara tells PEOPLE.

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