"I don't need you to like me, people. You're here to learn"
The legendary George Morris was back in Australia and yes he is still preaching the same messages, and yes he is still using the same style of teaching that is unique only to George
But is he outdated or have Australian riders had enough of his ideas?
Being fairly confident this was not the case, but still with fingers crossed, we took the plunge and sent our young rider Sam Jeffree along for the experience, a decision that was not made lightly.
By George's own reckoning during the clinic his work is far from done in our country, and judging by the full lessons and the captive audience at Boneo Park last weekend, we all agree. For us first timers to the George experience, the direction and concepts were basic and were made very clear. This was refreshing and, according to our rider, made the whole experience so worthwhile because, whilst many changes were needed, the how and why was explained so succinctly that any rider or spectator prepared to put in the hard work to action these ideas would see results, as in fact we did over the three days of the clinic.
Sam Jeffree gets his gear checked (left) while Alicia Brown has her boots cleaned by Vicky Roycroft on George's instructions - "These boots are very dirty. You must clean your boots every night - I do"
All sessions started with a quick review of gear, including stirrup length, cleanliness of boots, position of the foot in the stirrup (a quarter of the foot not just the toe), and a clear message that nothing "fancy" or "modern" would be favoured. Straight away during the warm up exercises, George described the different position needed for a rising trot, wanting all riders in a much lighter forward seat toward the front of the saddle, using legs a lot more with a higher hand and heels down. Stretching of the spine was a favoured term, not a "soft" or roach back, with the idea of the rider growing taller and sitting more chest out.
Legs DO NOT tap, they squeeze... and use of the spur or a cluck when needed was encouraged, keep knees relaxed, with contact being the lower leg not knee. George lamented on the heavy and overused seat of the riders, stating that there would be no need to ever teach three point position to a Melburnian rider (and as he reminded us with gusto - this was not a dressage clinic!!). The riders do, however, need to learn to live in counter canter
No 'soft' or roach backs allowed - sit up with what the French call 'the stretch of the spine'
A starting point for George, and a strange concept to most Australian teachers and coaches, is that he absolutely believes that progress will only be made if his students do not like him, and in fact stated this as being essential before any learning can take place. Riders learnt this very early in the first lesson when descriptions such as pathetic, lazy, and ditzy were thrown around. But... you come knowing what is on offer and it works!
The riders did get much quicker to listen and pay attention, and learn to focus on very quickly making the required changes, so it seems a healthy dose of reality is good for lots of students! Of course we would have been disappointed if we didn't experience the famous dry style of George and the good news is the praise was absolutely there when deserved.
Warm up movements for the horse on the flat focused on using what was referred to as first position; a small angle shoulder fore, placing the inside hind on the track between the forelegs, and progressed through to taking haunches in and out, all done with the light forward seat, higher hands for most, and deep heels (with LEG ON!).
George 'walks the walk' on Howard Ward's Nakita - and look at that lower leg .....
Following the warm up George would choose a horse to ride, and it is no surprise to fans that this was a fabulous demonstration showing he can walk the walk and not just talk the talk. In a short space of time he would have the chosen horse in a softer, more attentive and accepting frame from leg through to hand.
Poles were then used for the group to maintain a rhythm and aid softness, getting horses to relax and accept. The riders then worked up to grids that incorporated straight lines, turns, adjusting the number of strides and even halts, both within the grid and using the wall of the arena. Again, George emphasised the same principals as in the warm up - keep leg on and use the opening rein in conjunction with an outside neck rein for steering.
At the end of each jumping exercise the horses were asked to do some kind of "schooling", usually on a circle (e.g. haunches in or out, shoulder fore), and we were often reminded that even a jumping session should be 50% jumping and 50% riding or schooling.
Despite the fact that all the riders were soft and all the horses were spoilt at the start of the three days, they finished not just with compliments but also strong advice reminding them that the clinic will only have an impact if they do something with what they have learnt afterwards.
Of course every break-through was achieved using the same simple principles, so yes this part of a George Morris clinic remains unchanged and is the same as it was years ago! And as to the old part, well at a sprightly 78 years young, George was by his own admission older than anyone else at the clinic, but wow he did a good job of showing us how it can and should be done.
Article by Wendy Jeffree
