At the heart of all this is Operation Centaur yard manager Georgina Springall. Georgie has been with OC for 6 years and now manages both the yard and membership club at Holly Lodge along with the newly-acquired livery yard at Petersham Farm Stables. Starting young at the age 4, she quickly got hooked onto the sport and took on a full-time apprenticeship at a riding centre once she left school. Since then, she’s worked at various livery, dressage, and show jumping yards before coming to Operation Centaur where she manages everything from stable duties, to matching new riders with the right steeds, to training client’s horses, and escorting hacks around the park. She can also be found competing in show jumping classes across the country on Belgian Warmblood Willow, who makes a regular appearance on Operation Centaur’s social channels and photoshoots.
The Sybarite sits down with Georgie to find out more about what it takes to run two premier equestrian yards and her secrets for selecting the right horses that will forge deep connections with their riders.
Is it difficult finding a balance between riding as your passion and also your job?
I've always loved riding. It's my biggest passion and I'm always striving to become better, so having a job where I have so many hours in the saddle and have the opportunity to train horses and also compete is just the dream! I don't think it would be possible for me to develop this far if it wasn't for my job.
Is there a particular horse who’s left an imprint on you?
A horse that's left an imprint on me has to be Willow. We've had such an amazing journey together so far. She's the horse that bought me the opportunity of show jumping and understanding a totally different level of riding. There are plenty of highs and lows, don't get me wrong, but I think this is all part of it.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is managing the health of the horses. So many things can go wrong with them and they're also extremely accident-prone animals. Sometimes I wish they could just tell us or even point to what hurts so we can get to the bottom of it quickly for them.
Tell me more about the sharer programme. Is there a particular profile when it comes to your members?
Our sharer programme is aimed at riders who are searching for more connection through riding, but are not yet ready for ownership. Each rider needs to be confident in walk, trot, and canter and we match them with one of our lovely horses and find them a specific ride slot. I find the share programme naturally attracts the right sort of individuals who are all interested in the bond and care of horse as well as the riding side. It's also created its own really special community over mutual love fora the horses.
How do you select the horses for the sharer programme?
It's always hard to know for sure what horses are going to be like when we buy them and bring them to a new environment, especially one as testing as Richmond Park! But generally we look for horses that are already well established with ridden work and have a kind temperament, after all, they do therapy work as well. We don't mind some quirks, and this ensures the horses have some personality! However, they mustn't be unmanageable or dangerous.
How do you support riders who have confidence issues or rusty riders looking to get back in the saddle?
We've got a great selection of horses here, with ex-competition horses to happy hackers, so there is something for everyone. For more rusty riders, we offer the option to progress onto another horse once they are back in the saddle regularly.
We ride out in smaller groups, so the horses tend to be happier and everyone can communicate well and we offer lessons in our arena and even confidence clinics.
Operation Centaur has recently taken ownership of a new livery yard. What was the gap in the market you saw that you wanted to fill?
I am extremely excited to have taken on a new project at Petersham Farm Stables with Operation Centaur. This is a stunning stables offering an exclusive, 5-star livery service. The stables had closed down last year and we thought it was such a shame to see so many yards shutting over the last few years.There are fewer than a handful of stables offering solely livery in London and what an opportunity it would be to try and build the same community feel we have at Holly Lodge but within a livery stables instead.
When not at the yard, where can we often find you?
When I'm not at the yard? I don't know what that question means! Well, when I'm not at Holly Lodge or Petersham, you can usually find me at a climbing gym or at another friend's stables.
Operation Centuar Address:
Holly Lodge, Richmond TW10 5HS, United Kingdom
Website: https://www.operationcentaur.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/operationcentaur
Petersham Farm Stables
Address: Petersham Farm Stables, Petersham Rd, Richmond TW10 7AA, United Kingdom
