George Morris

[SBT]

It’s something all right. The kid was also excited that Mr. Babbington spent “lots of time” on her and her horse. I didn’t have the heart to say that in a clinic situation, the one who gets the lion’s share of instruction is usually the one who needs it most. :yes: Not a bad thing if you learn from it and take away something useful, but somehow I suspect all this kid took away from the clinic was, “I rode in a clinic with a BNR and he liked me!” :sigh:

If she were to do a GM clinic, I’d pay double to audit. :winkgrin:

ETA: Rubies, I was never a “real” teenager either. I was teen-aged, but never engaged in or liked typical “teenager” behavior. My friends would do things like steal mom’s car and go out drinking, get arrested & released, then brag about it. I’d just look at them like they had two heads and say, “WHY would you do something so stupid and dangerous?” Needless to say, I didn’t have many friends at that age. The ones I did have were either older or younger by several years. I never “got it.” Maybe because if I had done the retarded things my peers did, my parents would have sold my horse! :eek:

[LexInVA]

Well, it’s really not that surprising. There are a lot of people who have no idea who (insert big name here) is. Sometimes they only know of someone if they hear someone else talking about them or their trainer says something. That’s the nature of the beast these days because things have turned more towards service than sport.

[lauriep]

Many years ago, I watched Billy Steinkraus walk around Ox Ridge completely unrecognized by anyone but his friends. I even asked some of the juniors that I knew if they realized who that man was (and were just to shy to speak to him), and the answer was usually “No, should I?”

[SBT]

To be fair, putting faces to names isn’t always that easy if you haven’t seen pictures…or if the pictures you’ve seen are not recent. I don’t know that I would recognize William Steinkraus in person today, even though I do know WHO he is.

Are you saying they didn’t even recognize his name? If so, that’s sad.

[amastrike]

I knew who GM was before I even started riding… for some reason, a few issues of Practical Horseman came to my house, and I got hooked on the jumping clinic! For a few years, I thought of GM as “that guy in Practical Horseman who hates fuzzy girths” :winkgrin: . (And now that I do ride, I absolutely will not show in a fuzzy girth!)

[fair_judy]

[QUOTE=SBT;3692139]
To be fair, putting faces to names isn’t always that easy if you haven’t seen pictures…or if the pictures you’ve seen are not recent. I don’t know that I would recognize William Steinkraus in person today, even though I do know WHO he is.

Are you saying they didn’t even recognize his name? If so, that’s sad.[/QUOTE]

in an age when this industry encourages students to quit school and show show show, it isn’t surprising that these kids don’t have the barest understanding of the gentlemen and women who founded the modern era of american jumping. i wonder how many know that mr. steinkraus won finals in both hunter and saddle seat?

he is 83 now. i might not recognize him… and because his generation doesn’t believe in the fawning , bowing and scraping which is so epidemic with the so-called BNT mentality, mr. steinkraus wouldn’t be accompanied by his retinue.

as mentioned here, many people don’t even realize how devastatingly handsome GM was… if you sat next to him on a plane you might not even recognize him, except for that signature inflection.

anyone have a current photo of steinkraus? 2003 http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/4468/

[SBT]

@fair judy;3692188

as mentioned here, many people don’t even realize how devastatingly handsome GM was… if you sat next to him on a plane you might not even recognize him, except for that signature inflection.

LOL, I would! And I always knew he was handsome. I had the “Very Young Rider” book that has pics of him from the 70’s, though none as nice as the one posted earlier in this thread.

I now feel even more honored that he said I was “pretty.” In the future, I must qualify that brag with a printout of the aforementioned photo. :lol:

nyc_rider, where are you? We need your thoughts on this thread! Mod1 has vanquished the troll, it’s safe now!

[MHM]

It wouldn’t bother me too much if many “kids today” didn’t recognize GM or Mr. Steinkraus on sight. Not everybody is fortunate enough to go to shows where they might have seen them in person.

But to have no clue who they are? That’s pretty sad.

[Ride_emCO]

@horse-loverz;3690740

I think the one my friend went to this summer was $800 but not positive… to audit was like 60 bucks a day or so.

I did one just this past October, and it was $600 for 3 two-hour sessions, over 3 days. So, $100 per hour.

[Ride_emCO]

@equinelaw;3690785

Being the proud new owner of my very own DSL I could actually watch GHM clinics on my computer last night. He taught, he rode, he coached, he judged.

He never yelled or kicked anyone or made them roll in dirt. In fact, he was really nice to everyone and he was teaching lots of what looked like 2-2.6" ft clinics.

He looked and sounded very old, but is nothing like the stern or harsh or meaner GHM of 20 years ago. No way he would teach those low lever riders for any reason but the love of teaching. And not one of the cried:)

I would almost call him grandfatherly and kind. No, no I think I will just call him that. He was grandfatherly and kind.

In my brain, he sounds like Abe Simpson. :lol:

[horse-loverz]

[QUOTE=Ride’emVA;3692690]
I did one just this past October, and it was $600 for 3 two-hour sessions, over 3 days. So, $100 per hour.[/QUOTE]

Ahh that could have been it… I just knew I couldn’t afford it nor would I want to be the one that caused GM to stroke and die after seeing my riding :lol:

Someone did ride my horse in one of his clinics and George liked him… He even got on him (wasn’t staged:winkgrin:) and worked on his canter a bit. So it would just be me giving GM the stroke. :lol:

[Pat]

@SBT;3692139

To be fair, putting faces to names isn’t always that easy if you haven’t seen pictures…or if the pictures you’ve seen are not recent. I don’t know that I would recognize William Steinkraus in person today, even though I do know WHO he is.

Ditto that. A co-worker, Joanne, once (and oh-so-many years ago) had a brief but private discussion with a “middle-aged woman in Wellies and a well worn Barber coat”. This “woman” had trundled into the barn she was working at, struck up a polite conversation about the weather or something, and then eventually took her leave. It was only AFTER the “woman” left that Jo realized the she was HRH Princess Anne. :eek::lol: Did I mention that Jo is English? Sometimes you don’t see the forest for the trees.

Glad to see the trollie got her fanny spanked. The more she wrote the more dumb and uninformed she appeared. I just can’t recall exactly what I wrote that was so dreadfull that it needed editing, but whatever.

[Linny]

I met Princess Haya at Saratoga. I sat beside her most of the day. We exchanged pleasantries etc as folks do when seated near strangers. It wasn’t until about the 5th or 6th race that I realized WHO the lady in the pink suit was. (At which point I contrived to shake her hand in an ill-advised attempt to dislodge one of the 100 or so diamond bracelets!:lol:)

Back to topic: While I wouldn’t expect alot of riders to know Steinkraus or even GM by sight, they ought to know who he is! I read alot about top riders, I get COTH and PH etc. That said, I’m not sure I’d recognize alot of BNR’s if I met them on the street. For one thing, if they are hunter riders they are usually photographed ducking behind a beautifully braided neck, wearing the latest $10k version of the GPA. If they are jumpers, the photo usually shows them grimacing as they clear the “widest oxer ever seen” on the way to their recent win.

[amastrike]

…and if it’s an eventer, you’re too busy staring at the enormous fricken’ cross-country jump to even notice there’s a rider on the horse’s back.

[chukkerchild]

[QUOTE=Linny;3693098]
For one thing, if they are hunter riders they are usually photographed ducking behind a beautifully braided neck, wearing the latest $10k version of the GPA.[/QUOTE]

ONE DAY IT WILL BE MEEEE

[JenEM]

Not to mention the fact that people often look drastically different with a helmet on versus without. I’d chatted several times with a new barnmate, and it took me a good few minutes to realize who I was speaking to a few days later, when I encountered her on the way out to the pasture, without a helmet on! :lol:

Would anyone recognize GM without a hat on his head?

[Foxtrot_s]

That is so embarrasing when you only recognize people when they have their hard-hat hair, and stare blankly into space when they are ‘fixed up’.

What was with the troll - to join so she could cause trouble. I don’t understand that.
She sure had some sort of baggage relating to GM. Wonder where she will turn up next and what her alias and target will be? Weird. She was out of her depth when butting heads with Horse Loverz and her like

[findeight]

@Foxtrot's;3693364

What was with the troll - to join so she could cause trouble. I don’t understand that.
She sure had some sort of baggage relating to GM. Wonder where she will turn up next and what her alias and target will be? Weird. She was out of her depth when butting heads with Horse Loverz and her like

Well, could it have gone back to the frozen North? Given the invasion and all? Somehow don’t think it really is a newbie, some alter being deliberatly stupid to start a fight.

Particularly got a kick out of the deterioration in it’s spelling, especially after midnite when the various recreational substances kick in. Kind of drops the age estimation down to doubt any contact with Himself other then looking at a picture.

BTW…on another subject, Princess Haya is Queen Noors daughter. Noor is an American, daughter of longtime aviation exec (old Pan Am, either FAA or NTSB)…and pardon the spelling…Eugene Hallaby. East Coast Ivy League educated. Married the King of Jordan, changed her name. Her son is now King.

Have found her not just another political appointee to the FEI position, she’s got guts.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=lauriep;3692106]
Many years ago, I watched Billy Steinkraus walk around Ox Ridge completely unrecognized by anyone but his friends. I even asked some of the juniors that I knew if they realized who that man was (and were just to shy to speak to him), and the answer was usually “No, should I?”[/QUOTE]

When I came to the USA in the early 1970’s, the friends I was staying with started having some problems.
I was ready to leave, but didn’t know where to go and Mr Steinkraus was very nice to write a letter of recommendation to a friend of his and I went to stay there.
That was very, very nice of Mr Steinkraus, to extend a helping hand like that.
He is a real gentleman with people and horses and anyone that knows him will attest to that.

I knew who he was long before I came over, as he was well known in Europe.
I am surprised that some here, especially show riders, don’t know who he is.:eek:

[Amwrider]

And would you beleive that WS started out riding ASBs? :yes: