Be sure to check out the photo gallery from the clinic he did the other day with a group of eventers. Even the top riders in the world run to set the jumps when George is in charge! :lol:
I love the picture of everybody with their fingers in their mouths!
^ Yes, only George could make that happen. :lol:
I loved the picture of the horse trying to leap over all the cavaletti with George on him. George looked perfectly composed.
Great pictures. I wonder if he said anything to the rider with the orange stirrups. Oh, those eventers! :lol:
Seriously, great pictures. The exercises looked just super.
The accompanying blog post from one of the riders is cute, too. He talks about having a nightmare beforehand that he showed up for the clinic with mud on his boots.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/keeping-it-simple-getting-it-right
[QUOTE=Dewey;7143014]
Great pictures. I wonder if he said anything to the rider with the orange stirrups. Oh, those eventers! :lol:
Seriously, great pictures. The exercises looked just super.[/QUOTE]
I thought exactly the same thing! And yes, great pictures - not sure I would want to do some of those exercises!
I love that he told Will Coleman the bank his horse stopped at in London was more of a “bankette”. So sassy! Haha!
[QUOTE=Dewey;7143014]
Great pictures. I wonder if he said anything to the rider with the orange stirrups. Oh, those eventers! :lol:
Seriously, great pictures. The exercises looked just super.[/QUOTE]
He loves Sharon (I’ve seen him teach her before) so I bet there was good hearted ribbing. God knows if I ever finally get a chance to ride with him, my black composites would come off in exchange for good old fillis irons!!
Sad I had to miss that. It would have been fabulous to watch.
Many more great pictures from the second day of the clinic: 
Adore his brown boots !
[QUOTE=sonomacounty;7143791]
Adore his brown boots ![/QUOTE]
And THEY certainly are not polished. 
I also love his breeches. Wish the pleated ones would come back.
Agree on the breeches, too.
You’re going to have to be the one to tell him about his boots, though, Viney. I’m not that brave.
I would gladly bet a million dollars his boots were polished when he put them on in the morning.
Also, they added more pictures after I put up the link, including a fantastic one of a person ducking down behind the ring fence to check her phone out of George’s sight.
Funniest. Clinic. Picture. EVER!
Video of George riding at the clinic; http://eventingnation.com/home/george-morris-the-man-the-myth-the-legend.html
Am I the only one that is over the George Morris hype? He is a good clinician. He was a tough competitor. He is a good rider. He is not God. He is not above anyone.
[QUOTE=Angelico;7145019]
Am I the only one that is over the George Morris hype? He is a good clinician. He was a tough competitor. He is a good rider. He is not God. He is not above anyone.[/QUOTE]
I don’t think that anyone thinks that George Morris is “God”.
He does seem to be able to teach riders that have different levels of experience VERY well.
He seems genuinely to care about horse sport, horses, and riders and he is able to hop on horses and fix problems at his rather advanced age.
Admiration and respect are not to be confused with worship…
No, he’s definitely not God. I personally had a shattering experience at one of his clinics when I was young (back in the 70s), and there have been several threads detailing his flaws, which are not trivial. I also object to the attitude that he is above criticism, and some of the hero worship goes overboard IMO.
However, he is unique. He’s more than a good rider–he’s one of the most accomplished in the world. He’s able to see what a horse and rider need and to communicate what needs to be done far better than most clinicians. He has a long history of experience reaching from the infancy of the USET through its golden age to now. Unlike his great contemporaries such as William Steinkraus and Frank Chapot (no slam on them), he has taken it on himself to remain deeply involved not only in the horse world in general, but in the USET and the state of American horsemanship. He is 75, and not only does he still ride well enough to demonstrate techniques and school the horses of the top riders who come to him, he does clinics, writes columns about horsemanship, and remains very much in the public eye during a time when he could be off on a beach somewhere enjoying a well-deserved private retirement. While we laugh at his dislike of gimmicky stirrups, etc., he never stops talking about the principles of classical horsemanship, the need for riders to understand and know how to take care of their own horses, and what needs to be done for the US to regain a position as one of the great equestrian powers. He writes well and is able to express his passionate concern eloquently.
We all benefit from this. His voice matters.
