George Morris

[tikidoc]

[QUOTE=Bluey;3684543]
I don’t agree that a crest release should be a regular part of any training progression. It has been traditionally used only for a very few students that just didn’t seem to be able to have a good, independent seat but wanted to jump and were borderline qualified to do so, as a crutch for a very little.[/QUOTE]

I guess what I meant is that I agree that if used, the crest release should not be a means to an end but a step towards an automatic release. I agree that too many of today’s riders learn the crest release and stop there.

[RugBug]

@JenEM;3676390

GM has a website with clinic info here. The schedule’s just for '08, however.

I’ve audited before, and found it a great experience for tying together a lot of things I already knew :yes: I’d love to get my mare to the Morven clinic in the next year or so!

Took them long enough to update that site. Up until the end of September it still had 2007 dates on it. I’d been trying to find the contact info for the CA clinics and it was NOWHERE to be found. USEF didn’t have it, the website didn’t have it. My trainer finally found it in Riding Magazine.

GM really ought to put someone in charge of updating the website in a timely manner. Its neglect is lacking a certain attention to detail that is oh so important. Welcome to the 21st century, GHM…the web is your friend. :winkgrin:

[Melyni]

Riding a saddlebred with GM

[QUOTE=Amwrider;3674383]
So, how does one get into a GM clinic? I would love to send my niece if the opportunity ever arises. She would be on her saddlebred jumper who is ridden in a pelham, would that be an issue?[/QUOTE]

Actually if she rode correctly and the horse was well trained it wouldn’t matter.
Very many years ago I rode my yellow SB jumper/eventer in a GM clinic at Virginia Intermont. I was fairly recently ‘off the boat’ an impoverished graduate student at VT.
I was offered the chance to ride in the clinic and I took it with no idea who GM was. An event rider out of the UK I was so hungry for decent jumping instruction by then! GM was, I think, a little taken aback by the big lanky yellow horse, and the foreign rider, he asked if my horse was imported? I said yes he’s a Rinerland, Riner, Virginia that is! Then he made a couple of comments on how he personally preferred TBs, but he gave one hell of a lesson. I learned a lot from him that day. I did need a thick skin as he isn’t the kindest of men, but he did help us a lot.

Yours
MW

[mishmash]

[QUOTE=Gestalt;3671737]
I love to audit them.
A woman I knew was helping to set jumps during the morning session for the opportunity to ride with him later. He was explaining impulsion to the mounted riders, he turned to her and told her to set a particular jump, when she turned to walk away, he kicked her in the rear and told her to run. She did. He turned back to the riders and said “That’s impulsion”. :eek:[/QUOTE]

I am sorry-have to respond to this. That is flat out abuse-not funny, and a hateful thing to do. He could be charged with assault. I hope no one invited him back. If I had been that woman, he would have been speaking to my lawyer. How humiliating.

[Paragon]

A lawyer?

People SUE over being embarrassed?

Damn, I’ve been missing out on some serious money!

[mishmash]

No-people sue over being kicked in the butt.
If anyone else did this-teacher at a school, manager at work, etc-would it be acceptable??
Didn’t think so.

[tikidoc]

Although I agree that a lawsuit would be over the top, I also agree that behavior like that is abusive. The woman was HELPING to set up jumps and should not have been treated like that. Nobody should. That type of behavior is uncalled for and shows his disrespect for other human beings.

[Foxtrot_s]

Yes, that is unacceptable, to kick, or even kick towards someone, but we all know what the scoop is before going anywhere near his clinics. However, rather than going to a lawyer to do her fighting for her she could have put on her big girl panties (a COTH expression, not mine) and dealt with it herself. He has been called out enough times and I think, nowadays, in my exprience, he has mellowed. What, really, does suing achieve, except garner a bunch of $$? Ot os a;ways about $$. Lack of respect for animals or people lowers my opinion of that person.

[equinelaw]

Hey! Nobody got all upset about my story that he screamed at me for not setting jumps up fast enough when I wasn’t even working for a free clinic. I was just auditing.

He should not be kicking people, having them roll in dirt, making nasty personal comments or any of the other uncalled for nasty things he has done in the past, but he really has gotten much better.

It was assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress and shouldn’t be accepted as just fine, but frankly, its is and people even pay for it. Since he was 1,000 times worse 20 years ago then he is now I expect people have been warned and should know what they are getting into. They seem to like it. They sure pay a lot for the privilege.

I had several friends that were close friends of his back in the 80s. I, quite simply, I was not allowed to be around him. They knew if he kicked me in the ass or said something cruel and uncalled for I would have handed it right back to him and that was seen as a bad thing. I can be pretty sure I was one of a very small minority and you don’t see any gold medals in my house because I do not take abuse with a smile. You have to be 100% dedicated to your sport to let people abuse you and pay them for it.

I did make him almost cry once, but I didn’t mean to. However, I often feel very not guilty about that when I hear the stories of how he has humiliated others. There have been threads and posts on COTH telling tales of things that are just unbelievable and people think its funny. I think its like hazing and once you are in you are happy?

I do not think he cruelty is necessary for him to effectively teach riding, but I do think people know about it and actually like it. I think he would make less $$$ if he had always been hugs and sunshine. I am not really sure he can be blamed on acting how he does as long as he is constantly rewarded for it.

And, um, er. . if you ave a totally Independent seat and good balance, does it really matter if you keep putting your hands on the horses neck? If you have been taught to jump with no hands, hands on hips, hands out to side, hands on head then why is the crest release really harmful? The crest release and ducking and laying down on the horse are not the same thing.

[nightsong]

@equinelaw;3685942

And, um, er. . if you ave a totally Independent seat and good balance, does it really matter if you keep putting your hands on the horses neck?

I think it does, because you cannot maintain contact with the horse’s mouth and, therefore, RIDE.

ETA: Also, if you’re pressing on the horse’s neck, you’re tensing the body, which keeps you from having a loose, following seat; and the leaning on the hands means there’s no balance which means you can’t adjust to any problems that occur. In effect, you’re not riding, meaning in control AND following the horse’s movements, for the time that you are propped on the neck.

And I wasn’t taught (40-some years ago) ANY kind of “release”. It was a FOLLOWING hand, to always keep identical pressure on the horse’s mouth. Coupled with an INDEPENDENT seat, also, so the hands did not have to support the body OR the body be dependent on what the hands sis. JMHO…

[Bluey]

—“And, um, er. . if you ave a totally Independent seat and good balance, does it really matter if you keep putting your hands on the horses neck? If you have been taught to jump with no hands, hands on hips, hands out to side, hands on head then why is the crest release really harmful? The crest release and ducking and laying down on the horse are not the same thing.”—

A following hand will help support the horse at landing, if it needs support and will have you ahead if you are in a tight course or jump off.
I can’t see a crest release and jumps coming at you fast and furiously be near as effective in what you and your horse can do as with some real straight line contact, so you can be effective every second of the ride, if you need to.

That is why you do need a very secure and independent seat and proper leg to be consistently correct.
We should take advantage of all the aids at our disposition.

[harvestmoon]

If he kicked me, I would be tempted to kick him in the butt right back. Only, of course, when he’s not suspecting it.

[Amwrider]

@harvestmoon;3686212

If he kicked me, I would be tempted to kick him in the butt right back. Only, of course, when he’s not suspecting it.

Same here…or worse That would be a story to brag about for years…GM made me so mad I kicked him in the “nads”

[ThreeFigs]

Hey, Equinelaw, I want to hear how you almost made HIM cry!

[equinelaw]

It wasn’t on purpose and it wasn’t in person.

I used to draw. . doodle? I would always doodle little things. The day he got dumped by Rio in a pretty big Grand Prix I doodled a “Hunter Seat Equitation Volume III” that was pretty much like a horsey stick art representation of The days events. Step one ride, step two fly through the air, step three, smash into the ground ect. . .

His head groom saw it and posted in on the BB in the barn. Several people all gathered around and laughed at it. He walked in and saw it and saw then laughing. I think it was that fact so many people were laughing that hurt his. um . gulp. .feelings? He took head groom aside and asked her why everybody hated him and why they had to be so mean to him.

I actually felt kind of bad because I never meant for him to see it and I had never heard of him being mean or seen it myself back then. 84? The year Joe F got gold. . . .Who knew he was so sensitive?

It wasn’t even that snarky by today’s standards, but it makes you wonder if he is actually just a really insecure person who gets others before they can get him. It must have been hard to be the youngest winner and back then it was probably hard just being gay. He might have been the victim of lots of childhood meanies himself?

Now if he had ever kicked me in the ass he would still be crying:) Which is why I was never allowed within kicking distance of him or Conrad.

[Material_Girl]

Some of the more over the top incidents are staged. Can’t really say if the asskick is in that category, but it is interesting he’s never been sued or arrested for any of these stunts.

Dont forget - GM was originally a failed actor who settled on horse showing [edit]. He’s never been a serious athlete or coach.

[Paragon]

[QUOTE=Material Girl;3686739]
Dont forget - GM was originally a failed actor who settled on horse showing because it was almost as gay as Hollywood. He’s never been a serious athlete or coach.[/QUOTE]

Ahahahahaha! This is the best hoax ever. You’ve gotta stick around.

[IveGotRhythm]

[QUOTE=Material Girl;3686739]
He’s never been a serious athlete or coach.[/QUOTE]

Well, I don’t know how many “NOT” serious athelets make it to the Olympics multiple times- and manage to medal.

And he is definately a serious coach. I highly doubt that he needs the money from all the clinics he does. He is very serious (and VERY good) about helping the next generation to ride well.

I was priviledged enough to audit one of his clinics (thanks, TR!) and would give anything to ride in one. I watched him get on problem horses and they were almost instantly fixed (and I tell myslef everytime I am irritated at my horse, “Would he be acting like this if GM were on him?” and then direct all blame back at myself).

[Material_Girl]

Yeah the problem horses he gets on are often staged or planted as well (though not always). Even when its not an overt set-up, he usually makes sure he only gets on the horse if he knows he can make it go right.

More often that you’d think, he falls off too! [edit].

[IveGotRhythm]

[QUOTE=Material Girl;3686813]
Yeah the problem horses he gets on are often staged or planted as well (though not always). Even when its not an overt set-up, he usually makes sure he only gets on the horse if he knows he can make it go right.

More often that you’d think, he falls off too! [edit].[/QUOTE]

Very nice how you didn’t bother to address how a “not serious” athelete manages to medal in the Olympics or a " not serious" coach trains riders to major wins and continues to do so even though he doesn’t need the money.

Instead you spread lies ( oh please, like the clinic supplied horses that were staged/planted. That is the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard).

Methinks I smell a troll, and am done feeding it.