Georgina Bloomberg created The Riders Closet to provide gently used show clothing to collegiate teams and others in need.
If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to part with some of your old horse show clothes, you might consider a donation to The Riders Closet.
Founded by professional show jumper Georgina Bloomberg in 2006, the Rider’s Closet provides riding clothes to therapeutic riding programs, pony clubs, intercollegiate riding programs and riders in need. The Rider’s Closet accepts gently used riding gear and donates it to anyone who requests the items. All clothing and boots except helmets are accepted. (For safety reasons, used riding helmets cannot be donated.)
Bloomberg said of the beginnings of The Riders Closet: “I went to clean out my closets and realized that I had a ton of show clothes that were in great condition, as most of it had simply been outgrown. I didn’t know what to do with it all, and it got me thinking. I have a lot of friends who used to ride as kids and gave it up later in life, and I asked a few of them what they did with their show clothes and it was all pretty much the same answer. They just had it sitting in their closets because they didn’t know what to do with it all. I wanted to do something to collect the clothing and donate but was having trouble figuring out where to donate it to. I thought therapeutic riding but a lot of the time they don’t use full show clothes. I sat on the idea for the next few years and then it wasn’t until I went to NYU and met Shayna Silverman that it came back into my mind. She had been talking about how on the intercollegiate team at NYU a lot of the riders had trouble affording all the show clothes that they needed to be able to compete. I thought: ‘that’s it!!!’ I called a good friend of mine who put me in touch with (IHSA Founder and Executive Director) Bob Cacchione, who loved the idea and met me and worked out all the details.”
Bloomberg is currently recovering from a concussion and minor spine fracture that she suffered during a fall in November while competing in a show jumping tournament in Syracuse, New York. She is the daughter of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
After managing the program in her home for several years, Georgina partnered with Pegasus Farm in Brewster, NY, to allow it to operate on a continuous basis. The program is staffed by entirely by volunteers and operates on flexible schedule. The Rider’s Closet had assisted more than 250 individuals through November 2010.
For additional information, contact trc@pegasustr.org or call 845-582-0225, or visit the group’s web site: http://www.pegasustr.org/node/597.
