ON a hot and sunny February day at the spectacular Al Shaqab complex in Doha, Qatar, Katie Reilly and Keystone Dawn Chorus made their international debut as a combination. It would be the start of a memorable year for the British-based Ticknevin, County Kildare, native and the former Natasha Baker Olympic medal-winning 14-year-old Hanoverian mare, as they completed CHI Doha with a podium finish in third on 71.956% in the Para Grand Prix Freestyle Grade III class.

In 2024, the then 16-year-old para-dressage rider Katie Reilly would travel to the Paralympic Games in Paris, having been selected among a group of five Paralympic athletes from five different sports with legendary four-time Paralympic champion, Michael McKillop as a mentor.