Georgina Bloomberg

At Home At Gotham North

PHOTOS: JULIA DAGS

Though famous for being the younger daughter of business tycoon, New York City Mayor, Presidential candidate, and philanthropic activist Michael Bloomberg, Georgina is not defined by her famous father. At 37, she is, first and foremost, 7-year old Jasper Michael Brown Bloomberg’s single mom.
After that, she’s such her own person that, even in her Dad’s shadow, the public has come to know her, like Cher or Madonna, by her first name. 

Addressing the myriad and constant questions about her Dad, Georgina says, “Look, we’re just not the same person. There are things he does or feels strongly about that aren’t me, and while animal rights are a primary focus for me, it’s not his main issue. The truth is my parents were divorced when I was 10, my Dad ran for Mayor for the first time when I was 18, and although we are very close, I grew up with my Mom as parent-in-chief. My Mom, Susan Brown, comes from a British family and was raised in the Church of England, and so I was raised as an Episcopalian; and my experience of my Dad as a politician really wasn’t part of my childhood or my formative years.” Georgina explains further, “I know that being a Bloomberg gives me huge opportunity and privilege, and I would never try to suggest that I’m in any way burdened or obligated in being my father’s daughter. But I do believe it comes with a certain responsibility - and that’s to never disrespect what your famous parent is doing politically. I’ve always supported my Dad and his mission and don’t think it’s my job or place, using whatever platform I have because of him, to point out where we disagree or how I might do things differently. I think he was a great Mayor and that he’s accomplishing important change with the Bloomberg Family Foundation, and particularly in the area of the environment.” This year, Georgina became an ambassador for One Drop, an organization dedicated to ensuring sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for the most vulnerable communities.

Georgina is at-first careful, if not guarded, and has a manner and mannerisms that do seem somewhat like her dad’s. She’s prepared, thoughtful, self-controlled and confident. And while she is quite strikingly beautiful, her eyes, upper lip and jaw, and size, do resemble Michael’s. ...But all the comparisons should stop there - Georgina Leigh Bloomberg is Georgina.

Georgina does sit on the Board of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, but says she leaves most of the work to the Foundation’s exceptional team, and has no plan in place to take a more active role. Georgina’s philanthropy - and the charity she takes most personally - is focused on animal rescue. She has four rescue dogs living in her house, and another half-dozen dogs in the barn. She has 8 rescue horses and a rescue donkey, pig, and rooster living on her property. She is an EQUUStar for the EQUUS Foundation and Vice President of Animal Aid USA, and has been recognized for her work protecting animals by, and serves as an active member of the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of the United States, and a Chair of their Humane Generation New York program. Georgina lobbies State governments and supports all kinds of initiatives to help the cause, and says, “In addition to efforts at the national level and working on macro solutions, I try to focus some giving at the local level, where I know I’m making a real and specific difference. Each animal matters, and with enough incremental efforts we can change the broad picture.”

To make a real and tangible difference for real-life equestrians, in 2006 Georgina founded The Rider’s Closet, a charity that collects gently used riding clothes and equipment and gets that equipment into the hands of equestrians dealing with serious illnesses and disabilities, veterans and first responders, riders from underserved communities, and most recently, families affected by the Pandemic. As an example, one set of riding clothes went out to a 30-year old Marine Corp. veteran, Caitlin, who is working with a rescue horse named Raphael and is starting riding lessons, who wrote, “Thank you so much for the beautiful riding gear! Trying to enter the horse world without any real background is very intimidating, and incredibly expensive. As a Marine Corp. veteran, I’ve seen what traumatic brain damage can do to a person and, while I don’t plan on diving off a horse, I’m grateful to have protection in case I fall. I’m eternally grateful.” Recently, The Rider’s Closet also responded to a call from the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida who needed clothes and gear for their scouts and working students. GSWCF equine program director, Kristen Beran, writes: “I would like to personally thank you for making these girls’ experiences so incredibly special! They are all so very grateful for your generous donations. For some girls you have given a forever memory, and for others you have given inspiration and motivation to do and be so much more than a one-time rider.”  For her part, but without looking personally for any accolades, Georgina says only that, “We’re deeply grateful for the opportunity to make competitive and non-competitive riding more accessible to equestrians of every age, and at all levels of the sport.”

Georgina also serves on the Board of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation and the Hampton Classic Horse Show. And Georgina has co-authored four young-adult novels, with Bloomsbury publishing, about the equestrian show circuit, and filled with positive messages for young adults: The A Circuit (2011); My Favorite Mistake (2012); Off Course (2012), and; Rein It In (2013), and recently wrote the foreword for a book called Her Horse about celebrating the relationship between humans and equines. 

Georgina is, quite essentially, and to say the least, an equestrian. But she’s more than just one of the A-listers in the Wellington-in-the-Winter set...she’s a determined and accomplished professional athlete! She started riding at age 4, competing at age 6, and won everything there was for a kid to win, including the United States Equestrian Team’s (USET) Talent Derby at the age of 18, and their Individual Gold Medal at the age of 20. She turned pro at 21, and won the USET’s prestigious Maxine Beard Award. She’s been a winning member of U.S. teams competing all over the world and has herself earned numerous prize-monied wins at prestigious events such as the WEF Challenge Cup, the Empire State Grand Prix, the Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix, the Winter Equestrian Festival, the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of the United States of America, and the Hampton Classic Horse Show. In 2016, she started as an owner and rider of Team Miami Glory in the newly formed Global Champions League (GCL), and in 2018 she founded and started to ride for the GCL’s New York Empire. She promoted the 2019 Longines GCL Tour Finals which took place in New York City, and has several ongoing corporate sponsors for the New York Empire and her individual endeavors, including CWD Saddles, Heritage Gloves, Mane ‘n Tail, Samshield, Technogym, Sam Edelman, and Triple Crown Custom. Georgina competes in about twenty to thirty events a year, including all the personal fitness and training that top-level equestrian sport requires, and the incredible communication, cooperation and production involved in training and transporting the horses, and having them ready to compete.

Still, even with all the equestrian awards and glory, Georgina says, candidly, that, “I’ve done really well in this sport, and I really enjoy competing at the highest level. ...But I haven’t made it to the Olympics yet, and that’s the ultimate. I was born with a congenital problem with my spine which, combined with two fractures from two separate falls off of horses, I required a pretty major surgery in 2011, ...and that’s been a lot to overcome in general, and has interfered with my chance to go to the Olympics. And in equestrian Olympic sports, somewhat uniquely, you qualify and compete with your horse as a part of your team. So you need the Olympic-quality horse, and then you and the horse have to be healthy, and peaking, at just the right time - and that just hasn’t happened for me. Don’t get me wrong, my riding has been very fulfilling. But the Olympics would be special.”

And Jasper is already riding and competing, and showing some early promise in shows around Wellington and North Salem, on a diminutive pony named Fairytales. Jasper splits his time between schools in Florida and New York. And Georgina reports, “So far, he loves the competition. He took to riding naturally and is more focused at this age than I ever was. I think it’s great for self-confidence and teaching discipline and responsibility, and I’ll support him as far as he wants to take it.”

Georgina’s estate in North Salem is remarkably comfortable. To be sure, the endless paddocks and manicured grounds, and the antique white wooden farmhouse and stone outbuildings, all with a majestic sunset view, are idyllic. And everything about the place is manicured and refined. But the mood around the property is more that of a working horse farm than a millionaire’s - or billionaire’s - mansion, and the house and guest house interiors are downright homey. The living room is mish-mosh of older furniture, with the only hint of Bloomberg being a couple of leatherbound black-and-white family photo albums sitting inconspicuously on a corner table. Georgina’s dogs run the roost - down to pooch-protecting upholstery in the family room. But it’s clear that the main function and purpose of the place is as a healthy home for Jasper and their rescue animals. “Gotham North is perfect for us. I like North Salem, and all the local riding trails, and the great restaurants, and getting the chance to spend time with all my friends in the area. It still feels like pure country, without all the sophistication of the Hamptons or even Wellington, and it’s a summer wonderland for Jasper.”

The 16,480 square foot working barn at ‘Gotham North’ - three or four times the size of the main house - is impressive not only in size, but in quality and breadth of operation. The barn includes facilities to house about 16 horses and the place is busy boarding and training: Georgina’s dozen-or-so rides, including one of Georgina’s favorites, a massive and gorgeous white speckled horse, named ‘Crown’; Jasper’s pony; horses being trained by rider and trainer friends of Georgina who tenant there, and; the rescue horses Georgina fosters.

Jumpsuit: Ralph Lauren

“When we’re in North Salem, we get to have a lot of time with my Mom, who lives in Bedford, and my Sister, Emma, who lives in Armonk. Emma lives in that same house in Armonk now. And my Dad simply adores Jasper...and visa versa...and we get to spend time together here. Although my Dad does get a little uncomfortable around all the animals - and I chide him it’s because it’s the one thing he knows right away he can’t control,” Georgina says warmly. “I’ve always considered Northern Westchester to be home. I went to Spence, and then NYU, and we had a life in Manhattan, but we always had our home in Armonk. I feel like I grew up around here, riding at the local stables and competing in all the local events, and roaming around feeling free and having fun. Life is good here!”

At home with Jasper in North Salem, at Gotham North, Georgina is herself. Mom. Athlete. Philanthropist. Equestrian. Local.