I’ve read at another board that he has a particular aversion to overweight riders. The poster hypothesized that George’s mother was a fat woman who spanked him all the time. :lol:
But that was a while ago. Maybe he’s mellowed with age.
to those of you who are ranting about the crest release issue, it bears observing that many well meaning trainers who were privileged to have mr. morris at their farms regularly during the late 60’s-forward had the daunting task of applying what the clinics had revealed until the next session. i was so privileged to participate in this kind of program starting in 1966 at two rivers hunt club in tampa. mrs peggy touchstone was a noted horsewoman in her own right. i distinctly remember a kind of pendulum effect in our clinics. if , for instance, one student was told to slow down, the kid would be crawling in three months. if you had been told to raise your hands, by the next meeting you had them too high. after two years i was able to spend half a year at old mill. the consistency in being there daily eliminated that kind of monocular vision that is really what caused such abuse of the correct crest release.
remember also that in the 60’s and into the 70’s there wasn’t a babysitting step> up> in> 3"> increments mentality. we rode the ponies or the junior hunters. it simply wasn’t possible to negotiate courses on our mainly ottb horses with the now popular wretched excuse for a release made possible by the belly down equitation mounts. our hunters which cracked their backs were also our equitation mounts. no posing eq rider division even existed.
don’t blame gm for the misapplication of a valid tool.
[QUOTE=fair judy;3677544]
to those of you who are ranting about the crest release issue, it bears observing that many well meaning trainers who were privileged to have mr. morris at their farms regularly during the late 60’s-forward had the daunting task of applying what the clinics had revealed until the next session. i was so privileged to participate in this kind of program starting in 1966 at two rivers hunt club in tampa. mrs peggy touchstone was a noted horsewoman in her own right. i distinctly remember a kind of pendulum effect in our clinics. if , for instance, one student was told to slow down, the kid would be crawling in three months. if you had been told to raise your hands, by the next meeting you had them too high. after two years i was able to spend half a year at old mill. the consistency in being there daily eliminated that kind of monocular vision that is really what caused such abuse of the correct crest release.
remember also that in the 60’s and into the 70’s there wasn’t a babysitting step> up> in> 3"> increments mentality. we rode the ponies or the junior hunters. it simply wasn’t possible to negotiate courses on our mainly ottb horses with the now popular wretched excuse for a release made possible by the belly down equitation mounts. our hunters which cracked their backs were also our equitation mounts. no posing eq rider division even existed.
don’t blame gm for the misapplication of a valid tool.[/QUOTE]
Well, you see, that is what we are debating here, that some of us know first hand that the crest release was a GM signature tool, that it was used and misused at his insistence at first, don’t know why later and, for what I have been hearing, he has disowned it today as it is used.
You can look thru COTH for the past 30+ years and see it used at all levels, even today.
Hard to now try to change history, no matter how revered GM is today, as he should be for so much else he has contributed.
I’ve never heard of GM insulting anyone’s horse, only the rider when they don’t LISTEN. If you’re trying, he’s not going to belittle you. If you’re not, he’s going to get grumpy. I think it keeps riders on their toes and striving for perfection.
[QUOTE=Ride’emVA;3677642]
I’ve never heard of GM insulting anyone’s horse, only the rider when they don’t LISTEN. If you’re trying, he’s not going to belittle you. If you’re not, he’s going to get grumpy. I think it keeps riders on their toes and striving for perfection.[/QUOTE]
I was talking in general terms there, not about GM.
Wow, you get some kind of writing award for that one. Put a novel into a sentence;).
Anyway, good point about the military style as beating down recruits was the way to go up until recently (and still is to an extent). Trouble is there is little or no follow up in a clinic situation for the build up, just the beat down. Perhaps his approach was off base there in the past, at least with some.
Perhaps watching the movie Patton would be good prep for a first time clinic attendee? That George was right too. And even more abrasive.
But GM has mellowed and societal mores have evolved. He has even admitted he was a little out of line at times in the past but felt they expected it of him to get their money’s worth.
Still…I would PAY him to spend a few minutes with a few overly impressed with self youngsters I know and their delusional parents. Wouldn’t you love to see Olympian in her own and parental mind Susie on Pookenstine the wonder warm blood in the 2’6" section?
Come on, you KNOW you would pay to see that;).
[QUOTE=MistyBlue;3672015]
GM was the reason my childhood mare wore a roached mane. It was way too thick and I was way too bad a braider to get her presentable enough for my first GM clinic and I was mortified of showing up with a sub-par looking turnout. My coahc then said, “Just shave it off” before we went and I did and kept it that way during show season for the next decade. (FWIW I figured we were doomed anyway since she was a short, fat ugly-conformed Appy anyways with perpetually pinned ears and mare-face. And we were jumpers, not hunters. GM probably didn’t like her looks at all but did like her…called her bold as brass)
I learned more from 2 clinics riding and a few auditing than I did in ages of lessons. And my coaches were awesome. The man is a fountain of knowledge and does best getting us to ignore all the extras and unimportant stuff we obsess about and getting back to bare basics done 100% correct 100% of the time. And if you’ve got that, everything else falls into place. He was right about that. :yes:
A few years ago (3 or 4?) he could still ride the hide off a horse too…despite age, wear & tear and a bad cold at that time. he certainly didn;t just talk the talk when he hopped up on that grinchy mare full of tricks at the EA clinic in MA. :winkgrin:
Someone on here had a video of that…anyone remember who that was? Could they post that one again? I’d love to see it again.[/QUOTE]
I have some photos of that clinic too… I could post them if I can find them. That clinic cracked me up. I hadn’t seen GM for quite sometime before that clinic (maybe 15 yrs?) so it was a crashing refresher in GM-isims.
He doesn’t coddle, too many trainers coddle. Coddling doesn’t get the job done. Kind of OT but I just sat in a presentation by Sugar Ray Leonard and although he is boxing, he did point out in many words- a champion is not a champion by accident. GM isn’t great/champion because of happenstance or a technique like a crest release. If it were that simple- we’d all be awesome.
He talks… you listen and learn.
[QUOTE=findeight;3677688]
Still…I would PAY him to spend a few minutes with a few overly impressed with self youngsters I know and their delusional parents. Wouldn’t you love to see Olympian in her own and parental mind Susie on Pookenstine the wonder warm blood in the 2’6" section?
Come on, you KNOW you would pay to see that;).[/QUOTE]
Oh, I think that often in relation to a few self-important people I know. You know what I would love to see? Those 12 year olds that make nasty comments on youtube videos of riders at the top (we’re talking Laura Chapot, Beezie Madden, etc). I think someone should host a GM clinic just for these obnoxious kids… that would make my lifetime :yes:. If I have to read “UR not givign a big enough realease. Even I kno to move my hands up my horses neck over da jump” being written in response to Margie’s or Anne’s auto release, I will not be responsible for my actions 
I have ridden in a clinic with GM and audited many times, and I have never found him to be cruel. And I am a big ole wimp who caves under too much negative critism.
I have seen him verbally assualt some people, but only after they repeatedly either didn’t listen or ignored his instruction. One in particular was a girl who kept a vice grip on her mare’s reins. After 3 times of GM telling her to soften her hand (in 3 different terms) and release over the jump, he finally lost it and told her the clinic was a pointless waste of his time and her money, and even worse, her horse’s obvious talent was wasted on her. She started crying and his response was something like “for a girl who just spent the last 20 minutes paying very little attention to what I say, I am glad to see that something finally hit home.”
If you try your best to follow his instruction, he is usually pretty kind. Every clinic has been extremely educational, especially watching him teach the really high level students.
I don’t think I could handle riding with him full time, he is a little too intense for me to handle 24/7, but as a clinician, he is most definitely one of the best!
[QUOTE=seeuatx;3677772]
Oh, I think that often in relation to a few self-important people I know. You know what I would love to see? Those 12 year olds that make nasty comments on youtube videos of riders at the top (we’re talking Laura Chapot, Beezie Madden, etc). I think someone should host a GM clinic just for these obnoxious kids… that would make my lifetime :yes:. If I have to read “UR not givign a big enough realease. Even I kno to move my hands up my horses neck over da jump” being written in response to Margie’s or Anne’s auto release, I will not be responsible for my actions ;)[/QUOTE]
They aren’t worthy of such instruction. :eek:
For the question posted earlier:
On the GM site- says he was 14 yrs old in 1954… so there you go
WOW! He was a good lookin’ man!
My early lessons were with military men – European fellows. Col. de Vargha was very courtly in his manners but insisted on correctness. No such thing as a crest release, though grabbing mane in a pinch was allowed.
My next teacher, Arnold von Bennenstamm, was a tough guy and more rough around the edges. Lots more rough. No crest releases there, either, though before a jump-off at a show once, he ordered me (at the top of his leather lungs) to “drop the reins, grab his mane, and use your AAAAAA$$$”!
We got around the course – somehow. GM wouldn’t have scared me half as much as Arnold could!
[QUOTE=Bluey;3677639]
Well, you see, that is what we are debating here, that some of us know first hand that the crest release was a GM signature tool, that it was used and misused at his insistence at first, don’t know why later and, for what I have been hearing, he has disowned it today as it is used.
You can look thru COTH for the past 30+ years and see it used at all levels, even today.
Hard to now try to change history, no matter how revered GM is today, as he should be for so much else he has contributed.:)[/QUOTE]
I would like to hear from one of his old Hunterdon students, not a clinic attender, that this is what was taught and that it was not a step in the progression. I listened to him for years in the schooling area and during lessons, and never heard him say the crest release was anything but a tool. And his kids that won the Medal way back when sure didn’t use it to win.
Having said that, he will also tell you that at the lower levels, and in many circumstances, it is a perfectly acceptable release. But NEVER for an advanced rider on a trained horse.
That means he was born in l940 and it makes him only 68 (right??) He seems much older.
I think he has definitely mellowed. Since riding is a recreational sport these days, not military, I personally prefer the positive enthusism of our better instructors. I’ve taken my kids out of lessons with demeaning instructors before now. But George is a legend and one goes in knowing the scoop. Forewarned is forarmed. He also can disarm you with a small compliment.
He’s 70. I went to his bash in February.
[QUOTE=lauriep;3679222]
He’s 70. I went to his bash in February.[/QUOTE]
Great. So he lied about his age when he won teenager of the century or whatever. Not surprising for a lifelong grandstander who cant even get his own story straight.
This guy should give it up. He’s an amateur. Not one serious rider would take a clinic from him. If you really want to know the world according to George, read his book. Thats as good as it gets.
[QUOTE=Material Girl;3679372]
Great. So he lied about his age when he won teenager of the century or whatever. Not surprising for a lifelong grandstander who cant even get his own story straight.
This guy should give it up. He’s an amateur. Not one serious rider would take a clinic from him. If you really want to know the world according to George, read his book. Thats as good as it gets.[/QUOTE]
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol’
(I’m assuming you’re kidding)
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
[QUOTE=Material Girl;3679372]
Great. So he lied about his age when he won teenager of the century or whatever. Not surprising for a lifelong grandstander who cant even get his own story straight.
This guy should give it up. He’s an amateur. Not one serious rider would take a clinic from him. If you really want to know the world according to George, read his book. Thats as good as it gets.[/QUOTE]
I think that you are confusing personality with ability.:eek:
Training horses and people, we look at the process, but in the end, it is the results that count and he has had excellent results training, riding and teaching.
Coming from a mixture of the european riding styles, I prefer a different kind of riding to his, but that doesn’t mean he is not effective, in his way.
Different is not necesssarily wrong.
His success and fame have been hard won and you can’t deny them.
Think there is a tongue stuck in a cheek on that one.
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:…you said cheek! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
bad alagirl, bad girl. What a visual.
