George Morris on the SS list

Another local one. Serah Vogus’ current facebook profile picture is her with GM. Here’s an article about her…

https://www.dailyherald.com/submitte…creek-new-life

Perhaps the Antioch School District, who owns the barn she leases, would like to know of her support of him…

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Just like USEF is not a country with a constitution. It is a sport organization with rules that have now been upheld by SS, only because they were not sufficiently being upheld in the past.

I assume this person doesn’t walk around their daily life wearing show attire, so one must assume that they know that a club can have different requirements than the constitution… this is a straw man.

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The previous version of the SafeSport Code differentiated “inability to consent” and “inability to refuse.” When there’s a power imbalance - whether professor-student, coach-athlete, boss-subordinate - often the person without power doesn’t have the ability to say NO. “An Inability to Refuse exists when effective Consent cannot be given because of the use of Coercion, Force, Intimidation, or creating or misusing a Power Imbalance.”

The current version rolls this concept into the definition of “consent,” but I think it’s helpful to think about the ability to consent and the ability to refuse as distinct concepts.

FWIW, this is the definition of a power imbalance in the current version of the Code. It’s very clear that a coach cannot have sexual contact with an athlete.

 K. Power Imbalance

"A Power Imbalance may exist where, based on the totality of the circumstances, one person has supervisory, evaluative, or other authority over another. Whether there is a Power Imbalance depends on several factors, including but not limited to: the nature and extent of the supervisory, evaluative or other authority over the person; the actual relationship between the parties; the parties’ respective roles; the nature and duration of the relationship; the age of the parties involved; whether there is an aggressor; whether there is a significant disparity in age, size, strength, or mental capacity.

Once a coach-Athlete relationship is established, a Power Imbalance is presumed to exist throughout the coach-Athlete relationship (regardless of age) and is presumed to continue for Minor Athletes after the coach- Athlete relationship terminates until the Athlete reaches 20 years of age.

A Power Imbalance may exist, but is not presumed, where an Intimate Relationship existed before the sport relationship (e.g., a relationship between two spouses or life partners that preceded the sport relationship)."

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[quote="“atl_hunter,post:2203,topic:460643”]

I think the lowered ages come with caveats like “romeo and juliet” clauses so teenagers can’t be convicted of raping other teenagers, or like an 18-20 yr old with a 17 year old (there’s usually an age gap stipulation for partners over 18 to my knowledge).

The sticky point is when you mix in actual or percieved power over the other person. Because “consent” is actually coercion through real/implied threat.

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Maybe you should ask her what her position on GM is. His name is magic to many people. Although I don’t think I would want my picture with him on a profile pic, you can’t just erase his contribution to equestrian sport. He gave a lot of people an excellent equestrian education. She is obviously proud of attending a clinic with him at Gladstone and it’s a valid part of her CV.

Her mother is having heart surgery - she may have better things to do with her time than changing her profile picture.

Disclaimer: I don’t know this woman at all, I just checked out Millcreek Farm and her FB page.

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Copied this minute from their slide show .

The main video screen in the George H. Morris Arena measures 16 feet x 28 feet and is supported by two 16-foot by 9-foot screens which that present live video, and replays, and sponsor promotions.

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Did they just change the name on the schedule? Or is the physical sign on the ring gone?

She had time on August 7 to change her profile picture to the current, of her and GM. I think that should say what needs to be said, no?

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You definitely know more about the sitch than I do. In that case, by all means, drop a dime on the school.

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Finally! It was so disappointing to read their statement about keeping the name “for now”, that was released Sunday. I’m glad they decided to do the right thing!

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Where was the name change? It’s still listed as the George Morris Arena on the map.

Huh? You’re suggesting she should lose the lease on her barn because she is supporting him? Suggesting that people should contact the barn owners and let them know? Give your head a shake.

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This would be incredibly inappropriate.

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Yeah, people who run extensive kids camps and kid activities on their farm who want to do away with potential protection for them, and support a child molester, should be looked at carefully. They also should know better than anyone else how necessary these types of protections are.

Disagree if you’d like. It’s my opinion.

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Indeed. There are lines that you simply don’t cross - for legal purposes - and that is one of them. Feel-Good morality-driven actions such as that are as rash and impulsive as they are dangerous in hindsight. Were she to go forward and contact the barn owners, I can guarantee it would backfire and all she would get out of it is a legal battle and a court date.

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Yet people are contacting the barns of others inquiring about sponsorship status and IEA stuff.

Informing someone of something factual is not grounds for a lawsuit, lying about her would be. I just found it interesting that the school district owns a massive high dollar farm, and the trainer has the gall to support a child molester in the face of it.

I do think that people who are willing to put their name and livelihood on the line over a child molester should have some consequences. Maybe I’m wrong for that.

Perhaps Serah, who is a poster on this board, can come comment on why she would change her profile picture at such a coincidental time, and how she feels about SafeSport and the GM sanction.

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On the schedule in ShowGroundsLive. It’s likely the different web properties/assets are managed by different people, so I bet they change one at a time over the next days/weeks. Not to mention the physical things, like signage on the ring. But looks like the changes are underway.

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Love him or hate him, absolutely no one can deny GM’s indelible impact on the H/J and eq world that will last forever. There are hundreds if not thousands of riders who have him at least in part to thank for their success in the ring whether that be as pros or amateurs.

Anything SS does to GM will never change that fact. No one is doubting that. So posting your stories about how GM impacted your riding is 100% irrelevant. All these lovely I stand with George stories do not matter in the slightest and aren’t worth the time it took you to type them. One can be a legendary instructor and still be inappropriate with minors. The fact that he wasn’t inappropriate with you does not mean he wasn’t inappropriate with someone else.

How many of these people who are saying it couldn’t have happened because I spent X amount of time with him during those years and never saw or heard him do anything inappropriate have had a spouse cheat on them? Someone you spent every night with as you shared your bed yet you had no idea they were cheating. You don’t know what you don’t know.

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The lessor can always opt to not renew the lease when it is up.

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I have to disagree. What he founded was the American style, and we are hardly dominating the world in show jumping, eventing, or dressage. We may think it is the best or most effective way of riding, but at the top levels, it did not bring us a competitive edge to where we are always the country to beat. It’s been around long enough that if his style was truly better than any other style, we’d be dominating at the top levels.

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