One of Great Britain’s brightest young showjumpers will be hoping to defend his title this month at the Under-23 Britsh Championship final.

Daniel Neilson, from Chigwell, will be competing against 23 other talented riders on Friday, December 21 with the aim of retaining his crown and taking home the first prize of £5,100.

The 22-year-old had to qualify for the event through a wild card after missing the six qualifying rounds while he was abroad.

Neilson though has enjoyed an impressive year and remains optimistic about his chances.

He said: “I’m pretty confident, my horse is going really well and he’s showing some good form building up to the competition so I’m feeling quietly confident.

“I’m not sure if anyone has ever won it back to back before so it means everything – it’s one of the biggest classes of my year and it would mean everything to win it again.”

Neilson currently trains with the World Class Development Programme, which is funded by UK Sport and aims to provide young riders with a springboard to medals at senior Championship and Olympic levels.

Previous participants of the programme include Ben Maher and Scott Brash who both played a crucial role in securing a showjumping gold medal for Team GB at this summer’s Olympic Games.

Neilson was selected to represent Great Britain at the Youth Olympics in Australia, where he picked up a bronze medal, and now he hopes to make the senior squad in time for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“This year has been a real step forward for me,” he said.

“It’s definitely a massive aim of mine to be part of the Olympic team one day and to try and feature in more of the senior teams in the next year or so.

“It would be unbelievable to compete in an Olympic Games.”

The British Championship final will take place at the London International Horse Show Olympia.

For more information and to buy tickets visit http://www.olympiahorseshow.com/tickets.