Princess Anne's ex's Olympic slam

Apr 15, 2010, 12:03 GMT

Britain's Princess Anne's ex-husband has slammed plans to stage the 2012 Olympic equestrian events in London's Greenwich Park.

Mark Phillips - father of Anne's two children, Peter and Zara - thinks it will cost too much and will give organisers "sleepless nights".

Writing in magazine Horse and Hound, the retired Army captain said: "Even an enthusiast like me is a little perturbed that the original £6 million budget for the equestrian games has reportedly soared to over £40 million."

Phillips is worried the venue - which is rumoured to cost £40 million to build - will not leave a legacy for future riders.

He said: "Much has been made of the horse sports finally being able to be centre stage at the Olympic Games but at what price? Isn't cost one of the things that we are continually being berated about? I hope the lack of physical legacy doesn't come back to haunt the equestrian world in future."

He also warned organisers of the problems of importing thousands of tons of soil to level out the show-jumping arena and claimed local roads would be unable to bear the weight of some delivery lorries.

Horsewoman Zara has also spoken of her worries about the venue, previously asking: "What is annoying is that they put something there and then take it all down afterwards. What's the point of that?"