Meet Ollie Thompson: The First Beneficiary of the Georgie Campbell Foundation
As proud supporters of the Georgie Campbell Foundation through our Exclusive Twig Collection, we love following the incredible work they do in honour of Georgie's legacy and their commitment to supporting the next generation of event riders. So, you can imagine how excited we were when we heard that the Foundation had selected their very first beneficiary!
A huge congratulations to Ollie Thompson Eventing – the first Georgie Campbell Foundation beneficiary 💜🤍
Through bespoke mentoring, training and support, the Foundation is helping talented young riders develop their skills, confidence and knowledge as they set about beginning their own eventing businesses – just as a young Georgie once did.
We recently caught up with Ollie to hear more about his ambitions, what this support means to him, and where he hopes the journey will take him next.
Read our full conversation below ⬇️
Meet Ollie Thompson
Ollie, please can you tell us a little about yourself, your horses and how your eventing journey began?
I grew up in a village near Marlborough in Wiltshire, where horses were always a huge part of my life. My dad trained point-to-point horses for a dairy farmer and had a small yard, so I was surrounded by horses from a very young age. Growing up, I did a bit of everything with our ponies, including hunting, showjumping, Pony Club and eventing. I was lucky enough to have lots of ponies and horses over the years, but it was a loan pony called Bobby that really sparked my passion for the sport. I started competing in British Eventing with Bobby when I was 12, and he was the horse that made me realise eventing was what I wanted to pursue.
What does being selected as the first beneficiary of the Georgie Campbell Foundation mean to you, and what are you most looking forward to learning from the support and mentoring on offer?
Being chosen as the first beneficiary of the Georgie Campbell Foundation means an awful lot to me, as it will give me the tools and support to improve and grow my business. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and excited to learn from people with so much experience within the sport. I’m especially looking forward to learning more about what it takes to run a successful business alongside competing at a high level, as well as how to grow my profile within eventing and use social media more effectively to showcase my horses and results.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 season and beyond, what are your hopes and ambitions for both your riding career and eventing business?
My ambitions for the rest of the 2026 season are to gain more experience at the higher levels with my top horse, Lagans Rice Star, while continuing to produce and develop my exciting young horses for the future. I’d also love the opportunity to gain a few more rides on higher level horses, compete in more international classes, and gain mileage over bigger tracks. From a business perspective, I’m looking forward to continuing to grow my client base and further establishing and strengthening my yard for the future.
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us Ollie and for coming to see us at Bicton! It was lovely to meet you in person and get to know you a little better.
We are so excited to follow your journey and are thrilled to know that some of the proceeds from our Exclusive Twig Collection will be helping you as you embark on your eventing journey.
Good luck from all at Team Hiho! 💜
If you would like to follow Ollie's journey you can find him here on Instagram.
If you would like to know more about The Georgie Campbell Foundation, you can find their website here and listen to a very special podcast episode with our MD Emma and Georgie's sister Jo, on Countrywoman's Guide.
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Photography credits: Rachel Collins Photography, Emily Scotney Photography, Topshots Photography, ESP Photographic |
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