Laughton makes SportsAid One-to-Watch Shortlist

British youth rider Lily Laughton has earned a spot amongst the top ten athletes on the shortlist for the 2024 SportsAid One-to-Watch Award.

SportsAid is delighted to reveal the top 10 athletes on the shortlist for this year’s One-to-Watch Award. The annual award, supported by Aldi, the charity’s Official Supermarket Partner, was launched in 2006 and shines a spotlight on the stories behind Britain’s brightest young sporting prospects. Each of this year’s finalists will receive in-person visits at their training environments to congratulate them on their outstanding achievements with the overall winner being announced in December.   

The success of the One-to-Watch Award’s illustrious ‘Hall of Fame’ speaks for itself as previous victors, including Tom Daley OBE, Hollie Arnold MBE, Jodie Williams, Courtney Tulloch, Amber Rutter, Emma Wilson and Alex Yee MBE, have amassed 136 senior medals from Olympic and Paralympic Games, World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games, firmly establishing themselves as household names in British sport.  

The One-to-Watch Award shortlist for this year includes Olympic, world and European medallists in their respective sports either at senior or age-group level:

• Dan McLellan, 14, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire (Powerchair Football) 
• Erin Boothman, 17, from Netherlee, Glasgow (Cycling) 
• Irene Oboavwoduo, 16, from West Gorton, Manchester (Basketball) Isabella Rinaldi, 15, from Mitcham, Surrey (Climbing) 
• Jack Long, 20, from Bristol, Gloucestershire (Wheelchair Basketball) 
• Lily Laughton, 20, from Chippenham, Wiltshire (Equestrian) 
• Ruby White, 17, from Sturminster Newton, Dorset (Boxing) 
• Samuel Reardon, 21, from Beckenham, Kent (Athletics) 
• Skye Fisher-Eames, 15, from Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire (Diving) 
• Summer Shaw, 20, from Camberley, Surrey (Judo)

The 10 athletes have been selected from around 1,000 rising British stars, supported by SportsAid, across more than 60 different sports during 2024. Each year, athletes are nominated by their sport’s governing body on the strength of their talent and potential, demonstrating why the One-to-Watch Award has gained such a strong reputation for identifying the best up-and-coming prospects. 

At just 20, Lily is a rising star in dressage, part of the British Dressage U21 International Performance Pathway squad, while she has just come back from a year training and working at a yard in the Netherlands. She was a member of the bronze medal winning Young Rider team, who earned success in the summer of 2023, and is now turning her attention to building a career back in the UK. Her new business involves buying and selling horses, as well as looking after other people’s horses and teaching them to ride. Lily also continues to build her relationship with her top horse Hulana T, with whom she earned a top placing of sixth at the CDI Aachen earlier this year, a fantastic result achieved in the crucible of dressage. 

“The Olympics is always the goal, I was in Holland working for an Olympian. That has always been my dream. I was very lucky that I did the Europeans at 19, so it’s just stepping stones. As long as the horses are happy and I have a good attitude and training, I don’t see why one day, that might not happen.” 

Speaking about finding her way in business Lily added, “I’m only 20, it’s quite a big thing. I’m very lucky to have my parents guiding me on what to do and what not to do. But I’m also very independent, I like to do lots of things myself and figure them out for myself. It’s going super well, I have a lot of really lovely clients with horses here, I’m loving it and learning along the way.”

If Lily Laughton wanted an ideal mentor to help her achieve her Olympic dreams, it would be hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Carl Hester, who she's now training with in the hope of reaching her goals: “I’m very lucky to train with Luis Vilhena and also Carl Hester. I don’t even know how many Olympics he has done now. Training with him each week, I’m really lucky and that is where I would like to get to. He’s very good at showing me the way and how to get there and the attitude I need to have."

About SportsAid

SportsAid’s mission is to encourage, enable and empower the next generation of British athletes to achieve their ambitions in sport and life! Over 1,000 talented young sports stars - the vast majority aged 12 to 18 - are nominated to SportsAid each year to receive financial support and a range of personal development opportunities. These athletes are the country’s brightest prospects having been selected and put forward to the charity by the national governing bodies of more than 60 sports.