I always forget how long Georgie has actually been part of Heartland until I think about it and go… wait, season SIX?! That’s wild. Because in my head, Georgie is still “the new kid,” even though we’ve literally watched her grow up on this show in real time.
And the best part is: Alisha Newton is exactly what you hope she’d be. Like, not “celebrity pretends to love horses.” Actual horse girl energy. The kind that talks about schooling heights, insurance restrictions, and which horse is the spicy one on set (because of course there’s a spicy one).
What I loved most is how normal her “how I started riding” story is. It wasn’t some big dramatic moment. It was her grandma having a horse, going to the barn when she visited, riding western as a little kid… and then it just stuck. Later she switched into English lessons around age 10 and fell hard for it. Which honestly tracks, because once it grabs you, it grabs you.
Then there’s Aflame. Her Dutch Warmblood Pinto gelding that she bought in June 2015, and you can tell she’s completely obsessed with him in the sweetest way. She calls him calm, steady, and basically the ultimate “Steady Eddy” type—snuggly, patient, safe enough that she can literally stand on him and even use him for little kids’ lessons. That kind of horse is priceless.
The part that made me smile was her being really honest about how hard it is to balance filming with riding and showing. During the Heartland season (May to December), she’s lucky to ride three days a week, maybe squeeze in one or two lessons, and she also has restrictions on showing for insurance reasons. So when she says she’s proud of how far she and Aflame have come in a short time… it actually means something. That’s not “cute PR.” That’s someone working with the time they can get.
And if you’ve ever wondered how the show handles all the riding stuff? She straight-up explains it: there isn’t just one horse playing one horse. Phoenix, for example, is played by multiple horses depending on what they need—trail, Roman riding, jumping, the whole thing. And her favorite is the Phoenix jumper… a horse named Conamore.
And I’m sorry but the way she describes him is perfect: not calm, not predictable, a little firecracker. A “spicy boy.” I know every horse person reading that instantly pictured the exact type.
When it comes to favorite scenes, she mentions one that’s easy to remember if you’ve seen it: the end of season eight, Georgie in the field with Trouble, and Trouble charges at her. She loved filming it because it involved liberty work (which she clearly loves) and it was emotional too. That combo is basically Heartland at its best.
Her future goals are interesting too, because she’s not just stuck in one lane. She loves show jumping, but she also talks about eventing like it’s the dream—three-day eventing, cross country, the whole intense, hardcore version. She’s been to big events (like Rolex in Kentucky), done cross-country schooling, and loved it. And she’d like to see Georgie doing more of that too… more shows, maybe events, maybe a cross-country derby like other characters have done.
And then she ends it in the most wholesome Heartland way possible: just a big thank you to fans, saying we’re what keeps the show going, and she hopes we keep watching so it can run another 10 years.
Honestly… same. Keep it going forever. 😅
