George Morris - I Pushed the Button

LOL! Well, I'm guessing the link I posted with my previous post most likely only will work if you are a member of Catchride.com. I can't access the thread the link leads to unless I log in as a member (which I am, you can find me as SolitaireMare, there).

I highly recommend signing up just to read the deliciously snarky thread that was started with the following post by a member called "TimidJumpOff":

"WHO IS GEORGE MORRIS?

Does anyone know who this guy is? He evidently writes a column in a magazine, but does he actually ride? Who does he train with?

A friend of mine from TOB sent me a PM saying that this George guy called me "Loose", who is he to call me loose, I have been married for 28 years and have been faithful for all those years. When I was single and ambassador to Japan I may have been a little loose, but not now.

Getting back to this George guy, I hear he lives in Jersey. While I boarded in Jersey I never heard of him. What division does he show in? I did the pre-preliminary jumpers in 1989, never saw him there. Now that my horses are on LI, I rarely show, preferring to flap my mouth to my BNT ad on TOB. If I ever run out of stories recanting every fall I have ever had maybe I will return to showing to gather some new material. for now I have more than an ample supply.

Can anyone give me some background information on what this guy has ever done other than writing his silly little magazine column?"

Now, If you choose to venture further, Remember, it's all tongue firmly planted in cheek and it does get funnier (and weirder) as it plays out. The thread is from a few years ago and closed to new replies but still an amusing read.

Hmm, seems I've pushed a button by mentioning the "master". My personal opinion about the man is, I do not deny or diminish his personal accomplishments. But as a rider who grew up with his "Hunt Seat Equitation" book as the veritable "bible" of that style of riding, my biggest complaint was that I felt his ideals were unattainable for someone like me. I wasn't genetically gifted with his idea of the perfect riding physique, and I can't tell you how many times I lost in the showring to a lesser rider who just "decorated her horse" better than me. I was never overweight back in my day, but I was not a skinny teenager either. I had to learn how to ride smarter, and show I could THINK in addition to sit there and steer. (not a bad thing in the long run) Funny, my best ribbons came once I showed as an adult amateur, where being a little, um, "thicker" is just part of being an adult.

I had the opportunity to ride in a clinic given by him when I was a junior. The experience was lacking in my opinion. I had a green horse at the time. Which didn't seem to interest "the master" at all. Sadly, all I remember of that day was him asking me a question in the line-up after we did some flat work and I hesitated before answering him and he made some less than encouraging comment. Nothing snarky or bad, but enough to embarrass a teenager who wanted so much to impress someone like him, even with my green, crabby, OTTB mare.

So, it seems to sum up that he's still the Master of Hunt Seat Equitation to many, an over promoted prodigy to some, a sadistic drill sargeant to a few and an enigma to the rest. But definitely worthy of discussion. So I leave this to the readers, "Who Is George Morris?"