Showjumping star Jennifer Billington is looking to Team GB’s best for inspiration as she looks to one day achieve her own Olympic dream with the support of a prestigious sporting programme.

Billington, 20, is already making a splash on the international stage, thriving at the Youth European Championships in the Netherlands in July.

With aspirations of reaching the pinnacle of her sport, she will look to emulate the heroics of her idols, who themselves have gone for gold at Paris 2024 this summer.

“The Olympics will be a dream,” said the SportsAid-funded athlete. “I'm still very young, so hopefully I can just keep getting better and keep growing stronger.

“There's a lot of people to be inspired about. The people who are at the Olympics now are just phenomenal to watch. They’ve done the trot up and it’s just unbelievable.

“There's Joe Stockdale, Harry Charles, Ben Maher, Scott Brash. There are some phenomenal people out there, and just to watch them riding their own horses, you just learn so much from it.”

Billington is one 1,000 athletes supported each year by SportsAid, who provide crucial financial support as well as offering development opportunities through workshops and visits.

These athletes are Great Britain's brightest sporting prospects. They are nominated to SportsAid by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports based on set criteria from each.

The typical value of a SportsAid award is £1,000 with money generated through a combination of commercial partnerships, trust and charitable funds, and fundraising activities.

The grant has been immensely valuable to Billington in funding her progression, taking the financial burden away and ensuring her participation at important events both within the UK and across Europe.

“They’ve just been lovely to give me the opportunity to be a part of the team and give me the extra support and extra funding to help,” she added.

“It goes a long way because it's such an expensive job to be in, so it just helps a lot. It helps with classes, entries, travelling costs and all sorts of stuff like that.

“I live in Chester, so I have to get from here to Holland and places like that. With fuel costs, taking all your stuff over and getting on the boat to go over, it just helps towards all stuff like that.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.