Remembering 'George'...
Alison Donnell pays tribute to her heart horse, an ex-racehorse who flourished in his second career
As horse owners, we love our equines as part of the family, especially when they are with us for a long time. We spend much of our spare time with them and form a bond with them like no other - they are our four-legged best friends. Whenever the time comes to have to say a final farewell to our equines, it is like losing a family member - which can be difficult to explain to anyone who doesn’t have horses, or indeed other animals, in their lives.
Alison Donnell will be familiar to many in the horse world, particularly those from Co Tyrone or those who know Strule Valley Riding Club, of which Alison is an integral part. Alison recently lost her lovely horse ‘George’, whose companionship she had the pleasure of for 17 years. I suggested to Alison that it might be worth putting ‘pen to paper’, as such, to put together her cherished memories of ‘George’ and share them with others. In doing so, perhaps those of us who have also lost equine companions, can reminisce about all the experiences we shared with them and the smiles they brought us.
George
by Alison Donnell
‘George’, aka ‘GG’ (‘Gorgeous George’), as my friend Hazel named him the day we brought him home on a week’s trial from Vina Buller at Scarvagh House and it stuck. ‘GG’ really suited him. He was ‘gorgeous’ - on the inside, as well as the outside.
When we lost our coloured horse ‘Dolly Mixture’ in July 2000, I never thought I’d have another horse again and, for a time, I rode Lucinda Blakiston-Houston’s horses, rode with Andrew Short at Ecclesville towards my BHS Stage 1 and 2 exams and decided to go back to college (CAFRE) for three years and complete my HND in Equine Studies. I spent my placement at The Talland School of Equitation and Di Lampard’s and gained by BHS Stage 3 and teaching, BHSAI back then.
One Wednesday night in June 2008 at Strule Valley Riding Club, when Allan Dewhurst was teaching us, I mentioned I’d perhaps like my own horse again. Allan thought he might know where there could be one suitable; so we went to Scarva to look at ‘George’. I had a sit up on him, then arranged to bring him home on a week’s trial and he never went back. He was five years old, turning six when I got him and we had 17 happy years together. He turned 23 on June 29, 2025 and was fit, healthy and well.
We spent our first two years at Mandi King’s yard, then the next 15 years at Robinson’s Lissan Farm. Mandi was such a support to us in our early days and then John was very good to us - nothing was ever a problem, from fixing fencers to putting us a bale of hay in and more!
‘George’ was the most beautiful horse, a 16hh chestnut gelding with a round-shaped star going into a white stripe and, in my eyes, got more beautiful as the years went on.
He was a Thoroughbred by ‘Beauchamp King’, out of ‘Running Drum’ and, before I got him, he spent time in training with Carl Llewellyn in Lambourn, as part of the Burnt Toast Club…
Scarvagh House stud owner Alfie Buller created a tribute to his late mother, Carol, by donating 15 horses to set up an exclusive racing club that would give all profits to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
The Burnt Toast Racing Club, was established exclusively for mothers, and offered 50 lucky members an intimate racing ownership package, rivalled by no other club. The official launch was on the first anniversary of Carol’s death, November 11, 2007, and places filled up fast.
The club invited mothers to join, or for families to treat a mother they loved to membership. Members got to enjoy the ultimate racing ownership experience in an exclusive club with 15 horses valued at an estimated £380,000. Benefits included trips to stables, opportunities to meet trainers and jockeys, entrance to the Owners and Trainers enclosure at race meetings and a ticket for a guest at every event.
The 15 horses were trained throughout Britain and Ireland by some of the best names in the business, including Alan King, Venetia Williams, Mouse Morris and David Pipe.
‘George’ was one of those horses, under his full title of ‘Drumming Duke’.
‘George’ and I got together on June 16, 2008 and took it slowly, as he was only five years old and riding club was a completely new experience for him. I remember the day I sat on him, Vina saying ‘he could race’.
We did regular riding club lessons with Strule Valley Riding Club on a Wednesday night at 7pm. He was a lovely mover and we did some flatwork, dressage, polework, gridwork, show jumping and working hunter over the years. The first time we did some trot poles, he wasn’t quite sure what to do, but he learnt really quickly and turned into a very good show jumper.
He never once stopped at a fence, he was really brave and loved to jump. He was a little bit keen sometimes and was always so much more rideable and happy in the summer, when he got to the field. He was a big active horse and standing in over winter didn’t suit him.
Our first show together was in February 2009, a working hunter competition at Necarne. We competed in the 70cm horse class and won! My fondest competition memories with ‘George’ were competing at Strule Valley Riding Club’s Show jumping League at Ecclesville, competing at the Riding Club Show jumper of the Year final at the old Balmoral, where ‘George’ jumped beautifully, but unfortunately we had the last fence down (my fault).
We got another go at this competition at the Meadows, I think the following year; where ‘George’ jumped lovely clears and we placed fourth in the Senior Novice (my favourite rosette). We then represented Strule Valley at the NIRC Show jumping Championships at the Meadows, where he jumped three fantastic clear rounds to help the team place fifth that same summer.
We qualified and competed at the NI Festival at Cavan too in working hunter and ridden classes and brought home three rosettes. He was successful in working hunter too, getting placed at Eglinton NWWHA, Templemore and the RDA. Another special show was at Seskinore and Ecclesville Riding Club Team Show jumping at Ecclesville, where he jumped double clear and went clear in the jump off to help the team place third out of nine teams.
‘George’ always travelled so well in the horsebox, I never would have felt him moving about at all and I could manage him by myself.
In May 2014, he got kicked on the knee in the field and spent a week in Parklands in Cookstown with John Haughey. He made a really good recovery, but after that, I wrapped him even more in cotton wool.
‘George’ loved his breakfast and supper and would nicker while I was getting it ready. He loved his British Horse Feeds Fibre Beet and Linseed and Bailey’s Performance Balancer and his Bailey’s fibre nuggets and garlic in the summer. He always said thank you for his breakfast and supper with a wee nicker. He loved his carrots and apples and recently pears - only now and again though - and an odd polo in his feed.
‘George’ always got the best of everything because he deserved it. He got his Science Supplements Flexibility Plus then Professional and also their Gut Balancer.
‘George’ loved his hot water bottles in his heat therapy horse pack loin warmer on his back on cold winter nights and his fibre beet made with warm water in the winter, he’d lick his feed pot clean. I’d add some warm water to his water buckets too if it was very cold. When he took a drink of water, he’d keep his tongue out for a few minutes and I’d tickle it.
When he semi-retired, we loved to hack. ‘George’ loved hacking. He was so good on the road, had a lovely forward walk and always liked being out in front. Some people used to ask me then did I not miss getting out to riding club and competing, but I loved having ‘George’ to love and look after and get to hack. I was happy and content with that.
We’d do our carrot stretches five or six evenings a week after exercise.
He was a joy to own, the loveliest horse in the stable to work with. In the summer, he’d go out during the day and in at night and loved his routine, liked going out and liked coming in. He’d have his head over the door in the morning when he’d hear my car coming and then there would be the nicker, that always melted my heart. He loved his ‘soaked fibre nuggets’ first, while I was getting him fresh water, then his breakfast.
He’d have a couple mouthfuls of hay, then his round garlic lick while I was getting his fly repellent on and over-reach boots for the field. You wouldn’t have thought he was 23, he could march to the field and some mornings do the loveliest walk to canter transition when I took his headcollar off! He was never hard to catch, always happy to come in at night.
I loved spending time with him, grooming, skipping out, just sitting in the stable with him on a winter’s night listening to him eating his hay and there was probably a cat nearby.
Sunday morning was poo-picking morning in the summer and I’d take a handful of balancer in my pocket, as even though he had plenty of grass, he’d come over to say hello. His good friend ‘Bertie’ the cat would come over to his field when it was sunny too. They were great friends, though George has had a lot of cat friends over the years - they all loved him. ‘Bangs’ would have got up and slept on his back in the stable and you’d find ‘Bertie’ snuggled up in the stable with him.
‘George’ loved seeing other horses too and his stable mates - ‘Benji’ one side and ‘Viva’ on the other side - though he had a few different girlfriends over the years in the stable next to him, ‘Princess’ being one and, most recently, ‘Robin’ in the next stable.
‘George’ loved his itches, he’d like to tell me where it was and I’d get his itchy spot, which he loved and appreciated. He really made me smile. He loved his wee fluffy forelock tickled, which never grew. We’d be walking down the yard and he’d stretch his head down and I’d tickle his forelock. He loved his magnetic massage mitt too when being groomed.
When we lost our dog ‘Toby’ in 2022, after 15 years together, ‘George’ was there for me.
Everyone always asked about ‘Toby’ and ‘George’. He always appreciated his visits from Sharon Kelly, his physio over the years - the look on his face when she was treating him! He’d a good relationship with his farrier, Paul Duddy, too. He was a popular horse in the yard and I know he is very much missed.
In winter, I’d get his breakfast, then we’d go for a leg stretch up and down the yard or into the arena for a roll and buck, same in the evening. Feeding, grooming, skipping out, seeing to all his needs, teeth, vaccinations, worming, farrier, physio, stocking up on his feed, hay, supplements - I loved it all. I loved going to him every morning before work and every evening after work, he made my life whole. People talk about ‘heart horses’, ‘George’ definitely was mine.
‘George’ - 2002-2025. Forever in our hearts and so loved xo
He was absolutely stunning and what a lovely tribute to him 🥰 I love exracehorse thoroughbreds, often fragile horses but they have so much to give 🥰