Mr. George Morris
Upcoming Clinic: November 7-9, 2008
George Morris is considered to be one of the most influential trainers in the history of equestrian sport.
 His success started early in life, as he was the youngest person to ever win the AHSA Hunt Seat Medal Finals and the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Finals, accomplishing this at the age of 14. He then went on to represent the United States Equestrian Team on the gold medal winning team at the Pan Am Games in 1959 and the silver medal winning team at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. He has also been a member of eight Nations Cup winning teams.
George turned to coaching in the 1960’s, training future Olympic medallists Conrad Homfeld, Melanie Taylor Smith, Leslie Burr Howard, Anne Kursinski, and Chris Kappler, among others. He has served as the assistant coach for the 1966 Olympic Show Jumping Team that won the silver medal, co-Chef d’Equipe for the 1999 Pan Am silver medal winning team, and Head Chef d’Equipe for the 2000 Olympic Show Jumping Team. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame inducted him as a member in 2000.
His first book, “Hunter Seat Equitation,” was published in 1971 and is now considered to be one of the most important and popular books written for riders. His new book, “The American Jumping Style,” chronicles the popularity of the American-style seat of forward riding. In addition to being an author, Morris has served as director of the United States Equestrian Team, AHSA, and National Horse Show, and vice president of the American Grandprix Association.
George Morris’ expertise was applied at the recent clinic, where three different groups – Intermediate, Equitation, and Jumper – rode for two hours on each day. The jumper group included Jennifer Alfano, two-time winner of the World Hunter Rider Championship and recent Bayer Legend Leading Hunter Rider at the 2004 HITS-on-the-Hudson Horse Show, who is based at the Buffalo Equestrian Center.
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