IT was a busy week for the Kehoe and O’Donnell families last weekend as Paddy O’Donnell got his call up to compete at Valkenswaard in The Netherlands, while his goddaughter Georgia Kehoe was competing at her first National Dressage Championship in Mullingar.

Georgia (13) was riding Paddy O’Donnell Snr’s home-bred thoroughbred gelding Gay’s Boy, who is named after Paddy’s late mother Gay. Jack, as he is known at home, was bred to race, but failing to grow, Paddy O’Donnell Snr campaigned him as a show horse where the pair collected many wins. After his showing career was finished, Jack moved to the Kehoe family and just three months ago, Georgia took the reins from her mother Emer Bermingham.

At 19 years old, Horse Racing Ireland gave Jack his official name to compete in the dressage arena. Georgia and Jack went to three qualifiers (only just registered with Dressage Ireland before the first of her three qualifying shows) and qualified for the junior trailblazers.

On Sunday at the national dressage championships, she pulled a super personal best score of 71.52%, not letting the relentless pouring rain stop her in her tracks, to finish sixth in a strong class. Georgia is trained by dressage rider Heidi Slott Jorgensen and Paddy O’Donnell.