Cheltenham Festival green light for Victoria Pendleton as she prepares to ride Pacha Du Polder in the Foxhunter Chase

One year ago Victoria Pendleton embarked on a mission that many in horse racing thought impossible — to be a jockey in a big race at the Cheltenham Festival.

The double Olympic cycling gold medallist had not even ridden a horse before she was given her first riding lesson by Great Britain three-day event team performance manager Yogi Breisner on March 9, 2015.

Her starring roles since winning gold at the London 2012 Olympics had come in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and ITV soap Emmerdale. But after a rollercoaster 12 months of training, point-to-point rides, falls and a first win over jumps at Wincanton, Pendleton was beaming with pride as she got the Festival go-ahead.

Victoria Pendleton has been given the green light to ride at Cheltenham Festival in the Foxhunter Chase

Pendleton, 35, believes completing the course on Pacha Du Polder in next week’s Foxhunter Chase will rate alongside winning her two Olympic Gold medals.

She will certainly experience something new at the Festival where there will be a bigger field — the Foxhunter usually has more than 20 runners — and a faster tempo and intensity than in normal professional races.

There is also the chance this could end badly. Jump racing is at its most unpredictable at the Festival. A fall among the flailing hooves of a 20-runner steeplechase is a frightening prospect.

Pendleton, who has less than 20 rides over jumps under her belt, said: ‘In my mind, I feel being able to line up at Cheltenham is like winning a bronze medal at the Olympics. If I complete the course that will be like winning gold. Olympic medals are like a dream — you don’t think they are possible. From the start of this challenge I have not allowed myself to think it was impossible but I never thought it was a sure thing.

The 35-year-old two-time Olympic medallist won her first race at Wincanton on Pacha Du Polder 

‘Working with horses I have had to improve my mental approach because a horse is a very intuitive. It feels what you are feeling.

‘This challenge has allowed me to push myself at the control aspect because you have to be relaxed and focussed. I am an emotional person but it is almost like I have taken what I am capable of to a new level and I am very proud of that.’

Pendleton said achieving her goal of riding at the meeting had also required her to take her athletic performance ‘to a new level’.

Pendleton was unseated in her racecourse debut at Fakenham after colliding with Baltic Blue

Taking part in the amateur rider race which follows the Cheltenham Gold Cup a week on Friday and is run over the same three-mile, two-and-a-half furlong distance had not looked in doubt since Pendleton won her first race at Wincanton on Pacha Du Polder last Wednesday.

The victory helped ease the doubts created when she was unseated, albeit unluckily, at Fakenham on the same horse less than a fortnight earlier. It was an exit which prompted some big racing names to question the wisdom of allowing Pendleton to ride at Cheltenham, notably former champion jump jockey John Francome who called her ‘an accident waiting to happen’.

Those supporting her have included 20-time champion Sir Anthony McCoy and Grand National winning jockey Mick Fitzgerald.

The former Olympian said achieving her goal of riding at the meeting had also required her to take her athletic performance ‘to a new level'

Pendleton was given the green light to take part by a panel of experts — champion trainer Paul Nicholls, Breisner and trainer Lawney Hill and her husband Alan.

Pendleton said there were times in recent weeks when her mind had been ‘in turmoil’ over whether she should take part at Cheltenham.

She added: It was not an easy decision to make. In fact I have been in complete turmoil over the last few weeks thinking how I would tackle this situation.

Pendleton said there were times in recent weeks when her mind had been ‘in turmoil’ over whether she should take part at Cheltenham

‘I appreciate it is a decision which should not be taken lightly. National Hunt racing is an extremely dangerous sport, there are lots of risks involved but I feel that I am capable of lining up.

‘I would like to thank the jockeys who have publically supported me — AP McCoy, Aidan Coleman and Tom Scudamore. Their positivity has helped me through.’

Pacha Du Polder is trained by Nicholls, who conceded Pendleton had to win him over.

Yogi Breisner gave Pendleton her first riding lesson

He said: ‘At the beginning I was a little bit dubious but to be fair she has improved so much she is ready for the challenge.

‘Wincanton last week was a big day. It went very well. From the start the enthusiasm and courage of Victoria has been to the fore. The improvement from month to month has been absolutely incredible. 

'We have put her in at the deep end and for the last couple of months she has been schooling Pacha Du Polder. In one session she schooled over 32 fences with Sam Twiston-Davies and Nick Scholfield and coped very well. Pacha Du Polder is the ideal horse to ride in the Foxhunter. He is a good jumper, has lots of ability and travels well.’

Briesner is convinced Pendleton is equipped to ride.

He added: ‘Throughout the whole process, it has been a step by step thing. But once she started cantering and standing up in the stirrups, she felt more at home.

‘When she started jumping we saw she had the ability to see and stride (take-off) into a fence. That is something we are either born with or not. She has a feel for what a horse is doing and has basically crammed three years into one.’

Pendleton refutes suggestions that her participation at the Festival will be a distraction.

She has also been well paid for her ‘Switching Saddles’ challenge which has been backed by betting exchange Betfair.

It has been claimed she has been paid around £250,000, with Betfair paying for her time and image rights to get round amateur rider rules.

Pendleton shows off her two medals from the London 2012 Olympics but has embarked on a new journey

Despite her dedication – she has been riding out at the Hills almost every day – what she cannot recreate are the innate reactions to unforeseen twists engrained in the horsemen and women she will be up against. For that reason, the decision to let her ride is a gamble and one her team will feel increasingly nervous about as the Foxhunter nears.

William Hill make her 16-1 to win the race but odds on, 8-11, that she fails to complete or is outside the first 10.

That is probably the most likely outcome with Pacha Du Polder’s stamina for the distance not certain.

But, in this case, the odds should not matter. Completing will be a victory for Victoria.