OLIVE NICHOLLS is a rising star of the horse racing world and she is the daughter of legendary trainer Paul Nicholls.
The 20-year-old is one of the best amateur jockeys in the country and she features at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
Olive began racing at the age of 16 and quickly became Novice Ladies Champion in 2022 and has since had an impressive 23 winners.
A nasty fall in January 2026 off Quel Destin saw her rushed to hospital with a pelvis injury, though thankfully she was OK.
Who is Olive Nicholls?
Olive is the daughter of horse racing royalty in Paul and Georgie Nicholls.
Growing up in Oxfordshire, Olive lives with her mother Georgie, who is a Grade One-winning handler.
She had her first pony – Oakley – when she was just two years old.
Olive has declared: “My life has always only been horses.”
And she added when speaking to the Racing Post: “I’m very lucky to be in the position I am in, but of course, it does bring quite a lot of extra ties having the surname that I do.”
Olive hopes to follow in the footsteps of her parents when she is older and join them at their iconic Manor House Stables in Ditcheat.
She said: “The dream is to take the hotseat one day from my father.”
Who is her dad Paul Nicholls?
Paul Nicholls won 119 races as a jump jockey during the 1980s.
In 1991, he took out his trainer’s licence, starting with just eight horses at Ditcheat in Somerset.
After ending his first season with ten first-places, Nicholls has gone on to train over 3,900 National Hunt winners.
He has lifted four Cheltenham Gold Cups, the Grand National with Neptune Collonges in 2012, and a record 13 wins in the King George VI Chase.
For his accomplishments, Nicholls was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2020.
That followed a lengthy visit to the yard by the late Queen, who spent time meeting his family.
Nicholls has four children – Megan, Olive, Zara and Henry.
He has kids with three different women including son Henry, who he had at the age of 60 with his partner 30 years his junior Poppy Hemmings.
Daughter Megan enjoyed over 100 winners as a jockey and is now a racing presenter for ITV.
