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Racing: Olympic champion loving life in the saddle

VICTORIA PENDLETON revealed yesterday that she may never have taken up cycling had she become involved with horses at a younger age.

Despite being a total novice in the saddle, the dual gold medal-winning 34-year-old announced in March she was training to become a jockey, with a long-term aim of competing in the Foxhunter Chase at next year’s Cheltenham Festival.

After four months of intensive training and riding out five times a week for Oxfordshire-based trainer Lawney Hill, the double Olympic champion enjoyed her first taste of competitive action when finishing eighth aboard the Hill-trained Mighty Mambo in a charity race at Newbury at the start of the month.

She said: “If I’d had the opportunity to be involved with horses from a younger age, I’m sure I’d have pursued it above cycling. I definitely wouldn’t have been on the track.”

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