Young rider Lydia is aiming for the stars

And Para-dressage starlet Lydia Aucott, 17, will be hoping to emulate their success in the coming years after snaring a place on the 2015 Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport programme.

The burgeoning international athlete met the likes of London 2012 eventing silver medallist Zara Phillips as well as England rugby World Cup winner Jason Robinson among several other star names as part of her prize for selection.

Aucott, who has ridden for Great Britain at the two-star Bishop Burton International event, experienced the special meetings while attending the world famous Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials.

She was invited to the event to meet with Phillips, who won Olympic team eventing silver and is an ambassador for the programme, for an exclusive mentoring Question and Answer session as part of her prize for being chosen.

The rising star also got to walk the famous course with English Olympic gold-medal-winning horseman Captain Mark Phillips.

Aucott's selection for the programme is a big vote of confidence in the emerging starlet's sporting potential and she has also received a bursary to help meet training costs as part of the prize.

Just 276 star athletes have been awarded with an academy bursary since 2010, with 35 per cent of Jaguar Land Rover Academy alumni progressing to professional or world-class funding level.

Taekwondo star Jade Jones, who won gold at the Olympic Games in 2012 in London, was one of the first recipients of an Academy of Sport bursary back in 2010 and Aucott is being tipped for similar success in her chosen field.

"I have received a grant from the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport and from SportsAid which really helped with all my training and the upkeep of the horse," said Aucott, who also attended a workshop as part of the scheme alongside a host of star-studded ambassadors which also included England rugby stars Lewis Moody and Maggie Alphonsi.

She added: "The mentoring is really helpful.

"My mentor is (Paralympic dressage gold medallist) Lee Pearson who has the same condition as me (arthrogryposis – a condition which affects the joints) and got me into the para-dressage so it's really useful to have him around.

"Meeting Zara Phillips was fantastic. It was really informative to see what she was doing and (she was) helpful with questions we asked her."

The Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport is an initiative which aims to recognise, celebrate and inspire the next generation of British sporting talent through a world class mentoring programme

This year the academy has provided bursaries to 50 young and inspirational able-bodied and disabled athletes, who are recognised as being top of their respective games.

As well as offering financial support, a mentoring and education programme provides the chosen athletes with other forms of encouragement and advice to help them on their road to success.

And Rugby World Cup winner Robinson, who also spent individual time with a handful of athletes at the Burghley Horse Trials, is convinced that Aucott has a hugely exciting future ahead of her in the coming years.

"I was young once and I had all these hopes and dreams and it's just great that we can give them support in their chosen fields and just help them to achieve their potential," said Robinson, who scored a try in the final as England beat Australia to become 2003 Rugby World Cup champions.

"It gives everyone else confidence that actually it does work. We are seeing some of these young people turn into some of the best athletes that the country's got.

"I think it's fantastic for these young people and give it three, four or five years and I'm sure we will be watching them on TV."