Zara Phillips heading to Australia

Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter Zara Phillips will travel to Australia in January as ambassador for a horse-racing carnival, officials said on Wednesday. The 31-year-old royal, an eventing team silver medallist for Britain at the London Olympics, has been appointed the first woman ambassador for the week-long Magic Millions Carnival, to be held at Queensland's Gold Coast. "I got involved in Magic Millions Racing Women to help try and raise awareness of the many different ways in which women can be involved in this amazing industry, including horse ownership," Phillips said. Phillips added that she wanted to raise the profile of women in the racing industry in Australia. "Magic Millions is having a race where there will be horses competing that are solely owned by women," she said in a statement. "There are additional prizes for the first four horses owned by women that cross the line." The Magic Millions Racing Women initiative was launched in 2011 to educate and encourage Australian women to become more active in thoroughbred racing. Phillips is set to attend on January 12.