Mission accomplished
Determination, hard work, and a passion for people and horses is what led to Natalie O’Rourke MBE saving Park Lane Stables. H&R shares her uplifting story
As told to Nicky Moffatt. Photos: Equipassion
EXCLUSIVE interview
It comes as no surprise to hear what Natalie O’Rourke has achieved in the past two years because once she sets her sights on something, nothing’s going to stand in her way.
Natalie has been proprietor of Park Lane Stables in south west London since 2008, but on New Year’s Eve 2020 a devastating announcement left her worrying that the riding school would have to close its gates for good.
“The landlord announced he was selling up,” Natalie recalls. “This, of course, came as a huge blow and I had just eight weeks to raise one million pounds to secure its future.
“It was terrible for so many reasons. I felt a huge sense of responsibility to all my clients and the horses, and I knew I had to act fast.”
The fundraising begins
Natalie got to work straight away, setting up a fundraising campaign via social media and her mailing lists.
“I sent out a press release to every single contact I could think of who might be able to help us,” she says. “Then, incredibly, Good Morning Britain got in touch and said we could be featured on the show, but only if we had a celebrity’s backing – which we didn’t. I called upon the Welsh actor and comedian Rob Brydon who, to our utter delight, offered to help.”
The show helped generate around £50,000 in donations – on top of what had already been raised – but there was still a way to go to reach the target.
“As luck would have it, BBC Breakfast also called and invited us onto their show,” Natalie continues, although she could never have anticipated what followed. “I imagined we could raise another £50,000 after our appearance and then maybe I could borrow the rest, but what happened next took me totally by surprise.”
Following a plea for help on BBC Breakfast, and with just seven days left before the deadline, donations started flooding in and Natalie’s total was reached. “People were so generous and it really shows that the pennies make the pounds as most of our donations came in smaller amounts – £5, £10 and £20. So many kind people donated to help us reach our target and I still can’t thank them enough. I rang my dad straight away sobbing tears of joy. I just couldn’t believe it.”