Zara Philips, the Princess Royal's daughter, is on the GB Olympic team

[magical thyme]

15. Zara Phillips is on the Combined Training team, not the dressage team

And those are 4 names out of how many equestrian competitors?

Were you referring specifically to the Dressage team or all of the equestrian events? And yes, you will find 1%ers dominating many teams, especially in dressage. To compete with horses internationally is expensive; there is no question about that. Combined training and open jumping are more of a mixed bag. One of the US top combined training riders was strictly middle class. She picked up relativel low-cost thoroughbreds with talent, brought them along on her own, had a horse business with her husband, similar to RiderintheStorm, plus worked for the fire department to support it. Sadly, she unexpectedly died in her sleep a couple months ago.

Btw, Zara's mother, Princess Anne, also competed on the Uk's combined training team. My first teacher, Lockie Richards, taught Princess Anne when he resided in the UK and trained with Oberbereiter Franz Rockawanski, formerly of the Spanish Riding School. Lockie was himself middle class, first riding a neighbor's ponies bareback on the beaches of New Zealand. Lockie came to the US after teaching in their top school, first to the Potomac Horse Center in Maryland and then to Fox Hollow Farms in PA. Many of his students were wealthy, and many more were middle class. He taught us on camp horses -- definitely not 1%er material. From there, he became principal of the American Dressage Institute, which was founded by a 1%er who wanted to help foster dressage in the US. She gave the Institute half a dozen top horses, and students were allowed to have lessons on those horses. I was one of those students, and was able to learn the upper level movements on a 20 year old, semi-retired Grand Prix horse and a 15 year old, actively competing and performing Grand Prix horse. I also occasionally got lessons with future Olympians when Lockie was away (Mike Poulin) and watched other future Olympians and BNTs in their early training (George Williams, Bill Woods, and others I don't remember any more). 4 of us got to ride in front of the Director of the Spanish Riding School, Cl. Hans Handler. Of the 4, 2 were wealthy and 2 of us were middle class and didn't own our own horse at the time.