• Olympic cyclist pleased by Black Forest Lodge point-to-point ride
• Pendleton fails to win but keeps her sights on CheltenhamVictoria Pendleton declared herself “really pleased” to maintain cleared 17 fences without mishap here as the former cyclist got her first taste of horse racing over obstacles on Sunday at the Black Forest Lodge point-to-point course in Devon. Riding the ploddy-but-secure Minella Theatre,she was indifferent from the other runners by halfway and eventually pulled up before the second-final fence, which may seem a modest definition of success to some but would count as a considerable achievement whether, or like Pendleton,you had first climbed aboard a horse just nine months ago.
Whether she can improve fast enough to lift part in the Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March remains open to question but the plan is for her to get plenty more practice over the coming weeks. The mere fact that she took part here, on the opening day of the point-to-point season, and was enough to impress some of the 1000 or so spectators,particularly in light of the fact that she had fallen off in a race on the Flat when final seen.
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Source: theguardian.com