His methods and riding just don’t do it for me, let alone his attitude. I’ve never quite understood the obsession with him.
[QUOTE=rileyt;5337430]
…
At what point does USEF say, “Thanks for all you’ve done George… but its best you ride off into the sunset now. Your mouth and unprofessional behavior no longer outweighs your considerable equestrian knowledge.”
I don’t know who he said that to, but he owes the young lady an apology. A SINCERE apology, with a promise to himself that he will never again sink to the level of calling students names that wouldn’t be tolerated in Kindergarten. For all he preaches about how Americans have become so soft and undisciplined… you’d think he’d start by having the self-discipline to act in accordance with basic courtesy.
…[/QUOTE]
I agree.
There are other people who can teach effectively. This era of verbally abusing people needs to be over.
This is not the example we should be holding up to our young riders, or to anyone else.
Just wanted to throw in a vote … because yes this thread won’t really be a discussion to follow.
Oh please. This thread, again?
“Accomplished” riders participate in the Horsemastership clinic because it is part of their development track, and someone associated with each of them recognizes the fact that as decorated as they are, the level at which they have been successful is only about a third of the way up the ladder of international success with the top being the Olympic and WEG medal podium, which is the goal for many, if not most of them.
There is a great deal of difference between teaching and training aimed at imparting genuine knowledge, making a rider’s ascent up the development ladder to the upper rungs far more likely and the superficial ‘prepping’ practiced by a large percentage of trainers whose aim is to ‘keep their customers happy’ by ensuring they are never exposed to anything beyond the boundaries of their comfort zone, that the the sales/board/training/show bills are paid, and that the tack room banner is covered in ribbons each week.
One keeps the ‘business’ end of the industry going for those who participate on a recreational basis, the other is what will keep our body of knowledge about horsemanship and riding intact and improve it over time, allowing us to remain competitive internationally.
If you don’t like GM’s style, you are not alone, but at this point, changing it will not likely ever be a serious option. Move along, already.
I am with MOC, “OH PLEASE!” Its like tv, if you dont like it, don’t watch it.
He is an icon. You don’t get to iconic status by playing it safe and not challenging people. I have taken clinics by some of the " play it safe/ do nothing" folks with pretty big names and I learned very little, was challenged not a bit, and frankly thought " If we will only jump a tiny hunter course for two days, with just a lot of pats on the back, I will have learned nothing". Yes, the riders were all kept " safe". But no one gets a thing out of a clinic where the clinician is so checked out he or she doesn’t sometimes express frustration, or elation, or joy, or disappointment. GM cares, and he expresses it. And if he is mad at you, he won’t treat you like you are 5. But everyone who is privileged to attend one of his clinics knows what to expect. If you are thin-skinned, unprepared, not paying attention, or don’t ride well enough, or your horse won’t jump water, or you are out of shape…you are a fool to sign up. God bless GM. We can’t coddle and pamper the too level at this sport, most of which are very wealthy and coddled in all other aspects of their life. May he live to be 150.
For those of you deep in h/j world you may not know the name but check out Denny Emmerson. Another icon that has a huge resume and he does not treat people like that. He always addresses fitness and what is best for the horse. They are from the same generation of riders but Denny has crossed different disciplines and is very active and available to everyone that can get to him. No need to be rude. He is friendly and wonderful with kids just starting out and with ammy adults too… He does not need the fear factor…
Denny is no saint, either. There is something in the horse world for everyone. It’s a matter of style. If you don’t like GM’s (or anyone else’s for that matter), just move along.
I always read these GM threads post by post instead of skimming…I agree with so many posters here, the for and the against…and for the most part agree with most comments. There is really no need to belittle a person, even one who misses something.
My daughter has ridden with GM and I’ve watched several clinics. All contacts with the man were positive and as long as his students listened and showed an attempt at trying to achieve what was being asked, he had all the patience in the world. One difficulty was hearing what was being said as his voice is somewhat wavering these days, and in the big arena it faded. He also used some terms that our group was not familiar with, kept repeating the instruction, without clarifying - he called a fence ‘the gate’ and they thought he meant the in gate or something.
Another BNT came here and gave a free clinic for some hand picked riders - he was clearly frustrated because he started out his clinic with some basic patterns. Some yielding, transitions, and simple stuff, to get the horses listening and to assess the riders. Hardly any of them could do the basics, even though they were from the
‘higher’ end of local riders…they lacked a lot, and I see this with GM, and his frustrations, too.
We love the man - he is funny and perceptive and STILL can get on any horse and make it perform better than its regular rider.
[QUOTE=ivy62;7759845]
For those of you deep in h/j world you may not know the name but check out Denny Emmerson. Another icon that has a huge resume and he does not treat people like that. He always addresses fitness and what is best for the horse. They are from the same generation of riders but Denny has crossed different disciplines and is very active and available to everyone that can get to him. No need to be rude. He is friendly and wonderful with kids just starting out and with ammy adults too… He does not need the fear factor…[/QUOTE]
I wouldn’t be so quick to say this unless you’ve ridden with him. Maybe you have but my experience has been that he has no tolerance for rider fear or if he perceives a “lack of talent” on the part of you or your horse. If you read his book you will see that message in every chapter: if you ain’t got the money, horse, or time, you better pick up golf cause you ain’t getting anywhere and are wasting everyone’s time.
He may not be a saint, none of them are but he is easy to get to and more willing to work with younger kids… We had a horse that went to some of his clinics and shows and it was always a good learning experience.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;7760125]
I wouldn’t be so quick to say this unless you’ve ridden with him. Maybe you have but my experience has been that he has no tolerance for rider fear or if he perceives a “lack of talent” on the part of you or your horse. If you read his book you will see that message in every chapter: if you ain’t got the money, horse, or time, you better pick up golf cause you ain’t getting anywhere and are wasting everyone’s time.[/QUOTE]
This.
Coming from a childhood of Pony Club and eventing, I followed Denny on Facebook for awhile. Eventually, I had to hit the ‘Stop Following’ button because I just got so sick and tired of all his posts b!itching about riders who were afraid, riders who weren’t putting enough time into riding because HE rode every day even when he was a teacher and HE would ride in the dark, by the light of his car headlights, blahblahblah, and how “kids these days” weren’t real horsemen and didn’t do things how HE did “back in the day”. For Chrissake man, shut up. I’m not going to follow the word of a man who seems to believe that most riders these days are not up to snuff because they can’t manage to ride 6 times a week or are nervous in the saddle.
[QUOTE=alternate_universe;7760166]
This.
Coming from a childhood of Pony Club and eventing, I followed Denny on Facebook for awhile. Eventually, I had to hit the ‘Stop Following’ button because I just got so sick and tired of all his posts b!itching about riders who were afraid, riders who weren’t putting enough time into riding because HE rode every day even when he was a teacher and HE would ride in the dark, by the light of his car headlights, blahblahblah, and how “kids these days” weren’t real horsemen and didn’t do things how HE did “back in the day”. For Chrissake man, shut up. I’m not going to follow the word of a man who seems to believe that most riders these days are not up to snuff because they can’t manage to ride 6 times a week or are nervous in the saddle.[/QUOTE]
Don’t forget constantly belittling hunter riders as all that is wrong with the horse world, too. I also “unliked” his page and stopped following, the man is bitter, mean, and looks at the past through some strongly rose-colored glasses.
[QUOTE=OverandOnward;7757619]
I agree.
There are other people who can teach effectively. This era of verbally abusing people needs to be over.
This is not the example we should be holding up to our young riders, or to anyone else.
Just wanted to throw in a vote … because yes this thread won’t really be a discussion to follow.[/QUOTE]
Perhaps you should tell our military that they need to lighten up. Because AFAIK, they still tear you down and then build you back up. You are brutalized in boot camp, but come out the other side knowing how to follow instructions and orders, knowing the skills you need and how/when to apply them, and you develop a backbone.
There was nothing wrong with the military era riding instructors then, and there isn’t anything wrong with them now. The PROBLEM in this country is that we have too much hand holding, too much touchy feely, too much “poor widdle you” where what we need is riders with a command of the basics, unwillingness to compromise the ideal, and perseverance in life and riding. Because we DONT have a lot of this, the depth at the top of the game is very shallow, and not getting much deeper.
I haven’t read the posts but I can tell you this. I absolutely will not tolerate abuse of any kind from a riding instructor (not that I like it from others but I CHOOSE my riding instructor). If I am going to respect them, they need to respect me. Plus I learn a whole lot better from someone who can tell me the straight truth in a respectful manner.
[QUOTE=alternate_universe;7760166]
This.
Coming from a childhood of Pony Club and eventing, I followed Denny on Facebook for awhile. Eventually, I had to hit the ‘Stop Following’ button because I just got so sick and tired of all his posts b!itching about riders who were afraid, riders who weren’t putting enough time into riding because HE rode every day even when he was a teacher and HE would ride in the dark, by the light of his car headlights, blahblahblah, and how “kids these days” weren’t real horsemen and didn’t do things how HE did “back in the day”. For Chrissake man, shut up. I’m not going to follow the word of a man who seems to believe that most riders these days are not up to snuff because they can’t manage to ride 6 times a week or are nervous in the saddle.[/QUOTE]
I would have likely unfollowed as well, but I do agree with his comments on riders that don’t want to put in the hours. If you want to be good, you will not have a problem “finding” time. I understand his frustration in that department, as too few people truly understand the mileage it takes to improve and become competent as a rider. I have nothing against nervous riders, I’ve lost my nerve and I understand how utterly miserable it is, but it kills me to hear someone who has fear issues whine and complain but when it comes down to it they pass up the opportunities to better themselves, they don’t want to do what it takes to get over their fears.
This is not a “kids these days” thing, it is an old problem.
[QUOTE=lauriep;7760332]
Perhaps you should tell our military that they need to lighten up. Because AFAIK, they still tear you down and then build you back up. You are brutalized in boot camp, but come out the other side knowing how to follow instructions and orders, knowing the skills you need and how/when to apply them, and you develop a backbone.
There was nothing wrong with the military era riding instructors then, and there isn’t anything wrong with them now. The PROBLEM in this country is that we have too much hand holding, too much touchy feely, too much “poor widdle you” where what we need is riders with a command of the basics, unwillingness to compromise the ideal, and perseverance in life and riding. Because we DONT have a lot of this, the depth at the top of the game is very shallow, and not getting much deeper.[/QUOTE]
Lauriep,
I was just coming on to say the same thing. I’m an Army (non-combat) veteran. I would dearly love to have a riding instructor like George Morris. I don’t want an riding instructor to be my friend -I want them to teach me to be a better rider. He sounds like an old-school Sergeant Major to me. I’ve left instructors because they were too nice.
If he was trained by mounted cavalry instructors, then he probably absorbed the ethos that you come down especially hard only on those who you think have potential; as an NCO, you show you care for those in your charge by doing everything in your ability to provide them with high-quality exercise, discipline, and motivation, so that they will reach their full potential, down to the muscle memory level. It is always better to be respected than to be liked. If you don’t think that they have potential, then there’s no point is wasting your time and energy on them.
Best,
Amber
Fortunately there are all types of instructors for all types of learners. Everyone should find a trainer whose style works for them. I don’t understand why this idea is so contentious? Different strokes for different folks and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Here are my thoughts from the January thread where we talked about the exact same crap.
I would venture a guess that there is a heck of a lot of assuming going on when it comes to George Morris. People assuming that he’s a H/J “god” and is to be worshiped unconditionally. They worship him in order to be with the “in” crowd and to sound like they know what they’re talking about. Others assume that he is a verbally abusive, condescending jerk who can’t ride in advanced age. They speak out against him in order to be the fresh, kinda hip and edgy voices of dissent and to make a statement. They want people to think they’re cool because they know better than GM. Both are equally ridiculous.
He’s a man and subject to human faults at times. That being said, he can ride better than me upside down and blindfolded, and I have never witnessed him put a horse in an impossible or dangerous situation. I would be thrilled to have the opportunity to ride with GM, but that’s the beauty of having more than one trainer in the US at any given time…if he’s not your cup of tea, then seek out someone else.
And Denny’s no perfect being either, so we can go ahead and bring him off the pedestal too.
[QUOTE=lauriep;7760332]
Because we DONT have a lot of this, the depth at the top of the game is very shallow, and not getting much deeper.[/QUOTE]
If the depth at the top is so shallow according to you, why did Robert Ridland say this in a recent Chronicle article, “I will be so bold as to say that I could make two teams of five riders from our short list and be competitive with both in Normandy. We’re in a wonderful situation. Of course it made team selection a little more difficult, but that’s a great problem to have”.
