18 SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Doris Degner-Foster
G
eorge Morris is a charming man with impeccable
manners. “What you see is what I am: old breeches,
old sweaters, that’s me,” he said modestly. Perhaps
someone who didn’t know him might think he was just a kind uncle
who had come to the barn to visit his young relatives.
But, they probably wouldn’t think that for long.
George has little patience with students who don’t pay attention.
He said he is of the old school and his firm style reflects his
own upbringing. He points out that his methods have been very
successful and the facts support his statement.
In his first eight years of teaching as a professional, seven of
his students were winners of
the ASPCA Maclay and AHSA
Hunter Seat Finals. Those
students were followed by a
very long list of other successful
students, including, but not
limited to, riders who have won medals in the 1984, 1992, 1996
and 2004 Olympic games.
He attributes his success in teaching to his early education with
quality trainers. Although he was a teenager when he trained with
Gordon Wright, George said Gordon was a teacher’s teacher and
influenced him in many ways.
Gordon had said that a good teacher didn’t spend time telling
people what they did right, but told them what they were doing
wrong so that they could improve. Commenting on others who
influenced him, George said, “The great horsemen who came
The Legend of George Morris
e
before me, Bert de Nemethy, Jack Le Goff, Bill Steinkraus, Mark
Todd of New Zealand, Rodney Jenkins, Michael Matz – these
people taught me when I was listening, watching or reading.”
George insists he was not a natural rider. Instead, he had to
work at it. The evidence of his effort is clear. He won the ASPCA
Maclay Horsemanship Finals and the AHSA Hunt Seat Equitation
Medal Finals at Madison Square Garden in 1952 when he was
just 14. George explained that he was “13 in horse show age,”
meaning he was actually 13 at the age cut off date for juniors. The
record has yet to be broken.
George expects the same hard work and diligence from his
students. Those who he feels show him a lack of respect in any
way will receive the full brunt of his wrath. He is quick to point out
faults and ask unfocused students
questions like, “Do they put stupid
in the water here?” He is also
known to tell riders in his clinics that
they should loose weight, pointing
out the importance of considering
their horse’s welfare in carrying the extra pounds. Some say
his style is too harsh, others say the former chef d’equipe of the
USET jumping team is very deserving of respect – regardless of
his methods.
His students have said that if you give it your all, George will
stick with you through thick and thin until you succeed. Conrad
Homfeld, a former student of George’s and winner of the 1984
team gold medal, has said that George has an effect that reaches
beyond riding. The way that he demands hard work and discipline
Continued on page 20
George, in 1950, shows off his amazing form over fences.
Carl Klein Photo courtesy of The Chronicle of the Horse
George insists he was not a natural
rider. Instead, he had to work at it.
