Olympic champion Victoria Pendleton set her sights on riding at next year’s Cheltenham Festival yesterday after deciding to try to qualify as amateur rider.

Pendleton, who is Britain’s most successful female Olympian, has teamed up with bookmakers Betfair to pursue her aim of riding in the 2016 Foxhunter Chase and she is already working with champion trainer Paul Nicholls and eventing guru Yogi Breisner.

The former cyclist is hoping to obtain her Category A amateur licence which would allow her to ride in amateur races on the flat and over jumps, as well as competing in the point-to-point field.

Pendleton said: “I’ve been looking for a new and exciting challenge. When Betfair approached me about the opportunity to train to become a licensed amateur jockey, it captured my imagination.

“I’m motivated by the scale of the challenge and the opportunity to combine my love of horses with learning a new skill under the guidance of the team of horse-racing experts Betfair has put in place for me.

“I will be working closely with Yogi Breisner, Chris King and Paul Nicholls to help train and advise me over the next 12 months.

“My team and I have identified the ambitious target of riding competitively in the Foxhunter’s Chase at Cheltenham Festival next year but the initial focus will be on getting me to a level whereby I am granted an amateur jockey licence, which is a significant challenge in itself given that I had never even sat on a horse until a week ago.”

Breisner, who is the eventing performance manager for Team GB, will be acting as a mentor to Pendleton and believes her athletic mindset will be a huge plus.

He said: “Victoria is a hugely talented, ambitious and gutsy individual and these traits will stand her in the best stead possible for achieving this ambitious goal.

“It’s a real privilege to work with Victoria on a challenge of this magnitude.”