Introducing...

Geoff & Aria Small

Harness Racing is an exciting industry that employs thousands of people worldwide. It is an industry where lifelong friendships are formed and wealth by mere selection of the right horseflesh can be obtained. The well-known adage 'right place, right time' could have been invented exclusively for harness racing.

Here in New Zealand it is no different, and Geoff and Aria Small of Patumahoe (30 minutes south of Auckland) have for the past fifteen years been major contributors to this pool of excitement, wealth and friendship. Names like Elsu, Classical, All Hart, Pullover Brown, Motoring Magic, Grinaldi, Tabaret, Revonez, and Ouch started the ball rolling. Currently, Winforu, Awesome Armbro, Changover, Reality Check, Copper Beach, Ambro The Thug, Against The Win,  and are constant reminders of top class performers produced by this young and progressive couple. Their commitment and love of the industry is evident in the fact that their two year old daughter carries the stable name 'Zena,' after their first stable star 'Interchange.'

Initially when Geoff and Aria met fifteen years ago and decided to set up business together, it was a struggle, but they were fortunate enough to have the loyal support of a small band of owners. Among their small team of horses was a filly called Interchange, who subsequently 'got the ball rolling' by visiting the winners circle in her first season of racing no less than six times, including the richest two year old race in New Zealand. That kind of media exposure was exactly what Geoff and Aria needed at the time.

Since those humbe beginnings nothing much has changed in the daily stable routine. Horse numbers have increased but the operation is still a twenty-four hour, seven-day a week commitment with Geoff and Aria discussing each horse daily and modifying training programmes where necessary.

As horse numbers have increased, so too have the client numbers, and effective communication is of the utmost importance to Geoff and Aria. This has seen the hugely popular newsletter every 3 months and propelled Geoff and Aria into the E.commerce arena with the construction of our website (www.gsmallharness.co.nz). Our website is now a favoured means of communication for many of the 'Small' clients and has enabled new clients to make contact to discuss possible ownership and make general industry enquiries. Owners now have an option of using our Owners Page on our website with a password to give them access to there own horses information. i.e workouts, trials and race dates.