WHEN the Gordon Elliott-trained General Principle staged a late charge to come though and win the 2018 BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse and his ‘lass’ Seainin Mahon led him back to the applause of the crowds, it was hard to imagine that he might one day be in competition at that other big arena of the Irish horse – the Main Arena at the Dublin Horse Show.

Yet that is the aim for the 2022 season as the 13-year-old gelding is now being retrained for sport horse events by his then groom and her friends.

Seainin Mahon takes up the story from last summer after the gelding retired. “I looked after him in Gordon’s for four or five years. And I’d always asked Gordon could I have him when he retired.

“So when he went out in the field for the summer and didn’t go to Gigginstown, I asked Gordon why was he still here and he said I thought you wanted him, so I couldn’t believe it.”

As with the majority of horses who carry the Gigginstown colours on track, the son of Gold Well is a big, imposing gelding.

“He’s every bit of 16 3hh I’d say but there’s no badness in him. He was a gentleman to do anything with in Gordon’s, he was a lovely ride. I kind of fell in love with him that was, he was always a pleasure to look after.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with him first, I just started a bit of road work and enjoy him a little bit.”

Adjusted

Though last summer the new recruit adjusted to his retirement and retraining.

“There are some days when he thinks he’s still a racehorse! All the work we are doing is just trying to get him to relax and know he doesn’t have to go flat out all the time. Enjoying the slower side to life,” Seainin explained.

“My friend Amy Parsons, works in Gordon’s and does all the flat work with some of the horses and she said what about some of the Racehorse to Riding Horse classes with him so I asked her for a bit of help with showing and that.”

General Principle is under the care of former jockey Amy Parsons’ Foxley Stables. His first show was Lambertstown Show in September which was all a learning curve for him.

“It was just a small show but he went very well so we decided why not aim for Dublin or some of the bigger shows and give it a proper go. He’s getting there, he was very well behaved in his first show, I think it was shock!” Mahon recalls of that first venture to the sports horse arenas.

His retraining continued into the winter with spells schooling over show jumps in Emerald Equestrian and he went on to feature prominently in the Treo Eile jockey/Pro Showjumping night hosted at JAG Equestrian last December where he got best turned out and was part of the winning team, ridden by Katie Walsh.

Eager to please

“We took him cross-country a few weeks ago and he loved it and I’d like to do a bit of show-jumping with him. He’s still eager to please.”

A list of events planned around the country for retrained racehorse is listed on the facing page and plans are that General Principle will be in attendance at a good few of the events.

For the summer ahead, it could be busy times for all involved. “Any racehorse or riding horse classes we’ll be hoping to attend. We are going to enter him in Balmoral Show in May and then the qualifiers for the Dublin Horse Show.”

And the good thing is that despite her day job, it’s a new endeavour for Seainin too.

“I’ve never really done show jumping or anything. And it’s to show that I have a full-time job and if I can do it, to give an ex-racehorse a second chance at doing something in a different environment rather than just be in a field, anybody can do it. From a showing background, I’m a complete beginner myself.

In the Christmas spirit

“It took quite a while for him to learn how to carry himself properly like a show horse. Amy was very good teaching him how to do it and then I’d get on.”

Both the Facebook and Twitter pages give an insight to the journey and the fun bits along the way.

“I’ve had great help from Gordon, he’s been very supportive. It was Amy’s idea to set up the Facebook page and her cousin Abbie Williams does all the photography along with Caitriona Bolger. It shows all the different activities that we do with him and his progress.”

And as Abbie added: “It’s an excellent guide to showing these retrained racehorses there is a second chance at life in all disciplines, whether it be showing, eventing or showjumping.”

You can keep in touch with all of General Principle’s exploits with his new ‘family’ on Facebook and on Twitter at General Principle’s Road To RDS@road_gp