The 2014 George H. Morris Gladstone Program Final Day Post

In case ya'll are interested, I finally got my act together and put together a post for Horse Junkies United on the final day of the George H. Morris Gladstone program.

There's lots of video, so you don't just get my interpretation, you get pearls of wisdom from the Master himself.

Hope you enjoy!

My Recaps of the 2014 George H. Morris Gladstone Program

The past week was pretty darn awesome, as I spent the mornings auditing the George H. Morris Gladstone Program at the USEF Headquarters in Gladstone, NJ.  I mean, that place is pretty much the church of the equestrian, with tangible memories of the the United State's equestrian greats echoing throughout.

The program is an intense 6 days of training for up-and-coming stars in show jumping.  The applicants are hand-chosen by Morris, and they convene upon Gladstone to learn from a team of experts in physiotherapy, stable management, veterinary care and aspects of running an equine business.

Here are my recaps from Days 1-5:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

The Memorial Day weekend happened so family time interfered with writing time, so I'll put a link to that up as soon as it's written and posted.

Lessons from George...

Hey all!  Hope this finds you well.

If you are interested, there's one last post from my time at the George H. Morris Gladstone Program.  It's a series of George-isms in flashcard format to help remember some of the important words of wisdom he passed along.  I'm planning to print some out to tape to the lid of my tack trunk.  (I know- DORK ALERT!)

Oh yeah, and some of the funny bits, too.

If you'd like to read all my recaps, you can access them here.

The USET Foundation’s mission is to support America’s elite and developing athletes by assisting them with their competition, training, coaching, travel and educational needs, partly through programs like the Gladstone Program. If you would like to help support those efforts, and become a true partner in the US team’s success, you can learn how by following this link.


Thanks for reading!

Best Laid Plains...

Ok, you know how I told you I wouldn't be blogging much this week on AWIP because I was blogging for HJU about the George Morris Gladstone program?  Well, it seems I fibbed.  Just had to share this.

Today I was all fired up to ride after seeing the flatwork session at Gladstone. I was gonna do some snazzy work with Sug, yessirree Bob! THEN I got home and the Boy tells me that he NEEDS to be at his spring concert tonight. Yesterday was when he first mentioned he HAD a spring concert, but then the story was that he did not need to go. Today that changed. He needed to go to protect the sanctity of the bond of clarinet players or something.

The recommended attire is for these events is white shirt with black pants. He pulled a shirt out of the closet and came downstairs looking like an extra from Fiddler on the Roof .  Seems my white peasant tunic got mixed in with his stuff somehow. We laughed hysterically for a few minutes before going into my husband's closet for something a bit more appropriate and putting the poor kid out of his misery.

Given how his revelation today affected my plans for the evening, I'm not feeling guilty about the fact that I am still laughing at him.  Don't get me wrong, I'm so proud of Noah for honoring his commitments and his responsibility to his fellow band members. I just wish he'd filled me in on the schedule a bit earlier, ya know?

Tonight's sacrifice assures me of the Mother of the Year award, yes?

(BTW, You get AWIP style points if you can name this tune!)

Chillin' With George...

Hi all!

First of all, my thoughts and prayers are with any who are affected by the tragedy in Oklahoma. I felt the need to count my blessings and hug my kiddos a little harder this morning.

This week I am so lucky to have the privilege of covering the George H. Morris Gladstone Program for Horse Junkies United, so I won't be posting much on AWIP. 

The program is a week of intensive training for the young US show jumping talent, aimed at providing guidance and support for riders with the potential to contribute to future US teams.

If you are interested in reading about the learning taking place here in Gladstone, click on over to Horse Junkies United Junkies United.. You can view my posts here.

Thanks for reading!

Spending the Day With Rodney, George, and Buck...

I have somehow managed to contract a stomach bug and have decided to give myself a break and take a day off from work today.  While I await the loss of 5lbs due to the fun aspects of this illness, I am indulging in a day of DVDs.  Remember when you were young and sick and Mom put you on the couch with a cup of tea and let you watch TV all day?  Well, I'm doing the adult version of that, horse geek style.

While I admit I did indulge in one chick flick (Leap Year), the majority of the day has been spent with my Three Masters:Three Legends DVDs.  The footage was filmed in November of 1998 at the non-profit Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center where Susie Schoellkopf is executive director. The center serves special-needs children and relies on funding from donors. Proceeds from the sale of the series were earmarked to assist in the center's efforts.

There are three volumes with two DVDs in each, 4 hours of footage in each volume for a total of twelve hours all told.  I've watched all twelve hours, but I could watch all them another twelve times and still learn something new each time.  Today I started with Volume Two, Disk Five.  It starts with Rodney Jenkins discussing his thinking on Hunter classes.  Several rider/horse combinations circle Jenkins, and they're not just your average clinic riders.  Nope, the riders in this clinic are Beezie Madden, Aaron Vale, Melanie Smith Taylor, Jenifer Alfano, and Scott Stewart. 

Rodney does not just comment on the rider's position, he does an almost forensic analysis on how it affects the horse.  He teased one rider, calling her Mister Lock-Hands, and told her how her tendency to "grip" a horse with her hands created tension in the horse.  "You grab that horse in the mouth all the time and it gets him upset. Learn to relax your wrists a little.  Yeah, look at that horse!  All of a sudden he came back to you, didn't he?"  Sure enough, there was an immediate and visible change in the horse.  Jenkins then told her to wrap her legs around the horse while keeping her wrists relaxed. "Look where his head came?  See how he got polite with his head?  He got kind in the eyes."  I didn't see the eyes get kind, but I saw the other bits.

Rodney Jenkins recently served as a judge in the
Totally Thoroughbred Horse Show at Pimlico Race Course.

Rodney gave one girl a series of what must have been six instructions on her hand carriage.  By the time she complied with the last instruction, the horse's head had dropped into a much better hunter frame.  Rodney then concentrated on Scott Stewart, saying how everything Stewart does is intense and how he never takes his mind off the horse.  Good thing, right?  Not always, according to Rodney.  He said sometimes horses can't stand that kind of single minded pressure and get upset, and begin to look back at the rider with their ears.  Judges don't want hunters with ears laying back.  Rodney told Scott to take the pressure off by pulling the horse's head to one side a bit to give him something else to look at to refresh his attention and get his ears forward (obviously when the judge isn't looking).

Melanie Smith Taylor cantered by on a grey horse.  Rodney reminded the audience of what he'd pointed out the day prior in the confirmation section - the horse's short, straight pasterns.  He pointed how the horse's weakness behind created a tendency to travel with his hind end to the inside.  He had Melanie perform a shoulder fore to straighten the horse. Rodney agreed you'd never do that in a hack class, but you'd better practice it at home if your horse has the same issue.

Rodney on the great Idle Dice, one of my favorite combinations ever.
Rodney is the first to admit that, for all his emphasis on form, his form was never the best.

Maybe everyone else knows this stuff, but a lot of it was revelation to me.  Rodney pointed out that all of riding "is body position and balance." After all, those would be the aids, right?  He asked the audience to recall an exercises George Morris, one of the other Master Clinicians, had shown in a prior demo.  George had asked riders to purposefully duck on their horse's necks while going over fences.  Rodney asked the crowd, "When he told them to duck at those horses what did they do?  They got flat. George was making the horse jump like the body.  That's the reason all that flopping and ducking makes horses quick."

Rodney asked another rider to bring her shoulder back and then pointed out how the horse stopped stabbing the ground with its front hooves and how it's head came up.  He said that ideally, the flat class should be a prep for the jumping classes, and you don't want a horse with his head so low it's level with the bottom rail of the jump because then the horse will have a poor effort.

Sorry that I'm just rambling on here.  I'm gonna blame it on the tummy bug.  I know I'm geeking out, but I love this stuff.  It's like taking a PhD course in horsemanship.  The stuff I mentioned?  That was all in the first 5-10 minutes of the clinic. That's NOTHING, especially when the clinic progressed into jumping portion.  I rewound the DVD so often to listen to something a second or third time I was lucky it was DVD. Had this been VHS I'd have worn it out.

The set is a bit of an investment, I'll grant you, but if you like this kind of learning, well worth it.  Maybe ask Santa for it?  I'm moving on to Buck Brannaman after Rodney, and am actually hoping I'm sick tomorrow so I can OD on George's segments.

Here's a peek at Rodney back in the day:

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Not Your Normal Day at the Barn...

The day started out like most of our summer Saturdays: Get up at the crack of crazy and harass the kids through breakfast so we can get out the door to whatever rugby tournament we're scheduled to be at.

Had to pack riding clothes so we could hit the barn afterwards.  It's funny -- the kids play in anywhere from four to six games and yet I'm the one that's exhausted.  Go figure.

So by the time we got to the barn I was toast.  Just not feeling the mojo, ya know?  Then Sophie came up and told me she'd forgotten her paddock boots and half chaps. 

My mind blanked.  My jaw may have dropped open. I could almost see the myriad different responses that were crashing through my head.  Thankfully I was able to (in the words of the immortal Archie Bunker) stifle myself.  We decided that we'd forgo a "real" ride, and just hop on the girls bareback and in our shorts, have some fun, and leave the serious stuff for tomorrow.

Sug and Cookie were totally on board with the idea.  We walked and trotted around the grassy area between the indoor and outdoor rings and around the barn.  Then we went into the outdoor ring and cantered around a bit.  The girls clearly enjoyed the different form of exercise, and both tossed their heads and attempted a few baby bucks. 

It certainly wasn't our normal routine, and we certainly weren't attired in regulation equestrian garb, but ya know what?  Sometimes you just gotta get out of the rut!



Somehow I don't thing George Morris would approve of this!



Sadness Hits the Horse World Times Three...




Amy Tryon and Poggio II

 

I was sitting in the Milwaukee airport waiting to board my flight home and idly checking Facebook to pass the time.  The first post that caught my eye evoked a gasp and caused to sit bolt upright, startling the girl sitting next to me.  "What happened? Somebody die?" she asked. Possibly not the most sensitive thing she could have said, especially as the answer was yes.

 Eventer Amy Tryon was 42 when she slipped away in her sleep yesterday.  That's my age.  I've always enjoyed following Amy's career, and loved how she seemed like such a "regular" person, despite her success.  Almost blue collar, if that makes sense.  My Dad was a volunteer firefighter, so I could relate to that part of her life as well, and how could anyone fail to be moved by Poggio's story?  Mountain trail horse to world class eventer?  That's the stuff movies are made of.  Add to that the devoted and supportive husband, firefighter and Team SmartPak blogger Greg Tryon, and well, it was a bit like a fairy tale.  Isn't it odd why some people and their stories just seem to grip us?  This was one of those for me.  So very sad and sorry to hear of this loss.

US Show Jumping Chef d'Equipe
George Morris

I was still trying to wrap my mid around the loss of Amy Tryon when I scrolled down and saw the USEF release announcing George Morris' diagnosis of prostrate cancer. 

?!?!?!?!  Has the horse world tilted on it's axis today? 

Started sending thoughts skywards, asking the PowersThatBe to offer healing and solace to all those who need it right now. Hoping the fact that I was in a plane at this point and at 10,000 feet and climbing helped my messages get through.

John Quirk

When I landed I checked Facebook again, just to see if there was any more news.  Kinda sad that I get my news from FB, not CNN or NPR, but there you have it.  Was absolutely gobsmacked to read of the passing of John Quirk, husband of breeder Tish Quirk, former publisher of HORSES magazine, and perhaps the most driving force behind getting the Rolex World Cup event to Las Vegas.  Without John's efforts, many North Americans might never have had the opportunity to see the likes of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Albert Zoer, Marco Kutscher, and Ludger Beerbaum.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected.  I gave my loved ones an extra hard hug when I got home last night, and am looking forward to seeing and hugging my mares tonight, and letting everyone know how blessed I am to have them in my life.

BTW, before I forget, thank YOU for being in my life.

I Got Picked for the George Morris Jumping Clinic!!

Nope, not the real one as seen in the monthly column in Practical Horseman magazine.  The parody, as seen on one of my favorite equestrian websites, Hillbilly Farms.  If you ever need a good laugh, trot on over to their site, or check out their blog, The Road Apple.  Warning: Not for the humor impaired!  I've turned my barn buddies on to this site, and we laughed so hard we peed ourselves.  Then again, some of us are of a certain age and have had children...

Anyway, Hillbilly Farms does a parody of the George Morris Jumping Clinic that appears in Practical Horseman magazine, and I think it's hysterical, so I submitted an entry. I submitted my favorite bloopers pic, one where Sugar is jumping so hard she jumped out of her shoe (look by her nose) and I am hanging on for dear life.

Happily the folks at Hillbilly Farms thought our entry had what it takes to give the equestrian world a good giggle.  Here's what they had to say:

Jumping Clinic with George Morris

Winning the Battle Against Perfection

This rider's heels are shoved down and she has turned out her toes. To compensate for this weak base of support, she is clinging to her horse with her heels. She needs to relax her legs and sink her weight into her heels.

This rider's insecurities have caused her to stay in the saddle over the fence. She needs to come up out of the saddle and slide her hands up her horse's neck for some semblance of a release. Getting off her horse's back and giving a release will enable the rider to flatten her back, bring her elbows in, and perhaps stop making faces. She needs to look up at her next fence—over a jump is not the time to contemplate what went wrong at her farrier appointment.

This horse is making a huge effort over this moderately sized oxer. Her effort has left the spectators gasping for breath. The horse appears to be jumping with power rather than style. The look on this horse's face tells me she would rather make the decisions than leave such things to her incompetent rider. (Blog Author's note: This is my favorite line in the whole thing - Sug would ABSOLUTELY be much happier if all decisions were left to her!)

This pair's turnout is unremarkable. Their casual turnout is typical for schooling jumper classes. I prefer fitted saddle pads to the square saddle pads that everyone uses these days. The horse is clean and well-groomed, but lacks hoof polish. This pair's performance would improve significantly if the rider invested in some extra nails for her horse's shoes.

       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, and I'm about as chuffed as if I'd won a Grand Prix!

If you have the time and want a few more chuckles (assuming you found this amusing, and since you've gotten this far, I'm gonna assume you have) I'd recommend:

Hillbilly Farms Dressage Training Scale

Show Gear

Trainer Quotes

Hillbilly Hunter Show MadLibs

My understanding is Hillbilly Farms is located somewhere in Washington State.  It's a pity I'm on the other coast, as I think I'd fit in there...