On this day in 2016: Victoria Pendleton falls on racecourse jumps debut
The double Olympic cycling champion, then 35, was riding Pacha Du Polder at Fakenham.
Victoria Pendleton was unseated on her first ride over regulation fences in the Betfair Switching Saddles ‘Grassroots’ Fox Hunters’ Chase at Fakenham on this day in 2016.
The double Olympic cycling champion, then 35, had never sat on a horse before taking up the sport less than a year before and was unscathed after falling off the nine-year-old Pacha Du Polder.
Pendleton was riding Pacha Du Polder for a second time after being beaten in a photo-finish on the same horse at Milborne St Andrew point-to-point the previous January.
Both riders crashed to the ground, but were soon back on their feet and Pendleton said afterwards: “Pacha Du Polder is so excellent and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every fence we’ve schooled over.
“I’m very disappointed I didn’t give him a fair shot. He was an odds-on favourite and it was a disappointing job from me.”
“It’s probably the greatest achievement of my life,” Pendleton said after her Cheltenham experience.
“I’m overwhelmed – thank you to everyone who has made this possible. I feel honoured.”
Pendleton won cycling gold in the sprint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the keirin at the 2012 London Games.
