George H. Morris
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Equestrian | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 1960 Rome | Team show jumping |
George H. Morris (born February 26, 1938) is an American trainer and judge of horses and riders in hunter and show jumper competition. He is considered a "founding father" of hunt seat equitation. He also was a chef d’equipe for the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), show jumping team.[1]
Career
Morris began riding as a child. In 1952, at the age of fourteen, he won the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Maclay Horsemanship Finals and the American Horse Show Association (AHSA) Hunt Seat Equitation Medal Final at Madison Square Garden, making him the youngest rider to do so. Morris rode on eight winning Nations Cup teams between 1958 and 1960.[2] He went on to train numerous riders at his Hunterdon stables in New Jersey, who consistently have won in competitions on the East Coast.
Morris has represented the United States in many international equestrian competitions as both a rider and coach. In 1959 his team won the gold medal in the Pan American Games, and he won a team silver medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Students trained by Morris have won medals in the 1984, 1992, 1996, and 2004 Olympic Games. Morris has acted as chef d’equipe for numerous winning teams, including the 2005 champions of the Samsung Super League. He fully assumed the position of chef d’equipe of the United States show jumping team in 2005. His term as "chef d'equipe" of the USET show jumping team ended in 2013, when he was replaced by Robert Ridland.[3] He also served in that role for many Nations Cup events.
He coached United States teams to individual and team Silver medals at the 2006 Fédération Équestre Internationale, FEI, World Equestrian Games. In 2008 he coached the team that won the Team Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in Hong Kong as well as the team member who won the Individual Bronze Medal.
Morris also serves on the USEF National Jumper Committee and Planning Committee, and he is the president of the United States Show Jumping Hall of Fame. Morris teaches weeklong horsemanship clinics designed to develop young riders.[4] In 2016 Morris will serve as coach for the Brazilian Show jumping Equestrian Team in Rio de Janeiro.. George Morris will be a clinician at the Hants County Exhibition in Nova Scotia in May/June 2016 (date is not yet confirmed).[5]
Publications
Originally published in 1971, and now in its third edition, Morris' Hunter Seat Equitation often is recognized as the definitive work on the subject. Morris also has authored several other books and videos on riding and judging. Live broadcasts of training sessions led by Morris are featured on the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) network.[6]
Morris also writes a column in the monthly equestrian magazine Practical Horseman, entitled Jumping Clinic, in which he critiques the jumping form of riders in reader-submitted photographs. He coined the term "Drama Riding" for the lack of classical position seen in riders in the show ring today.
See also
References
- ↑ HorseWeb/United States Equestrian Federation, Inc. (2005). "George Morris Leads U.S Show Jumping Team to Win First Leg of Samsung Super League at La Baule, France". United States Equestrian Federation, Inc. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
- ↑ http://www.usefnetwork.com/GeorgeMorris2011/files/Meet_the_Clinicians.pdf Meet the Clinicians at the USEF
- ↑ https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/robert-ridland-approved-new-show-jumping-chef-d%E2%80%99equipe
- ↑ http://www.nj.com/sports/njsports/index.ssf/2013/04/post_69.html
- ↑ DMF Productions. "George Morris". DMF Productions. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.usefnetwork.com/GeorgeMorris2011/ United States Equestrian Federation network, the national governing body for equestrian sport
Works
- Hunter Seat Equitation (1st ed. 1971, Rev ed. 1979, 3rd ed., 1990)
- The American Jumping Style : Modern Techniques of Successful Horsemanship (1993)
- George H. Morris Teaches Beginners to Ride (1st ed. 1981, reprinted 2006)
- Because Every Round Counts (2006)
- Designing Courses and Obstacles (contributor) (1978)
- Unrelenting: The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights, and My Pursuit of Excellence author, with Karen Roberston Terry (2016)