The Buffalo Therapeutic Riding Center Inc.–where my SBS Farm is located–hosted a three-day George Morris clinic during the week before Thanksgiving.

Three groups rode for two hours each day, and the riders, trainers and auditors were treated to an astonishing three days. George has developed a wonderful clinic system that teaches good horsemanship for each rider and is a wonderful tool for developing the horse into a better, more responsive athlete. He does it by going back to basics–he teaches riders and horses to respect and respond to aids.

I’ve had George give clinics here off and on for the past 20 years. Over those same 20 years I’ve also been lucky enough to offer clinics from Rodney Jenkins, Buck Brannaman, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward, Scott Hofstetter, Melanie Smith Taylor, Lyman Whitehead, Heather Caristo, Lou Jacobs and Jennifer Alfano. And each time, the riders have always said how much these clinicians have helped them in all phases of their riding and training.

The first group in the morning was an intermediate three-foot group with nine riders. George started with the basics, inching them forward from Friday’s lesson to the final session on Sunday. Each day, George went over the two-hour period he’d allotted for each group, because he teaches with such enthusiasm. I also like the fact that George rides all types of horses during these three days–not just the easy ones!

George can pinpoint the problems each horse and rider has and the problems that are affecting the riding trends of today. Each intermediate rider improved by Sunday, along with their horses.

The next group of eight included top hunter rider Jennifer Alfano and top junior rider Kacey McCann. Jennifer rode a 4-year-old who, under Jennifer’s riding and George’s encouragement, had a wonderful three-day learning experience. The horse became braver as George gave Jennifer helpful tools for the upcoming year.

Kacey expanded her learning horizon as George taught her how to incorporate her natural talent with the discipline to correct her riding faults.

The last group, but certainly not the least group, was the jumper riders. Beezie and John Madden were kind enough to send two fantastic horses for Melanie Smith Taylor and Lou Jacobs to ride. And, wow, what a treat it was to watch Melanie and Lou give everyone a riding lesson for three days. George was so happy to have these two there to demonstrate many of his teaching methods. Melanie rode with George for years, winning the 1982 World Cup Finals, the team gold medal at the 1984 Olympics and scoring countless other accomplishments on her legendary Calypso. But this was the first time Lou, a former international rider who now shows as an amateur, had ridden with George in a clinic situation in many, many years.

As I sat here watching Jennifer, Melanie and Lou, I started to think about our junior equitation riders of today. These three are simply great riders–not just hunter, jumper or equitation riders. They listened to the tasks that George presented to them. They rode with determination–not afraid to make a mistake. If they made a mistake, they learned from it. And their eyes were on the big picture of being better riders and better horsemen, the reason all three horses were happy and interested in their jobs, even on the last day!

I think all great riders and trainers learn something new each day they’re around horses. They watch everyone ride and train when they’re at shows, no matter where. And they read horse books and articles non-stop.

Melanie has such feel for good riding, good horsemanship and why mistakes happen. She got that from riding at an early age with her mother on their farm. She rode anything given to her, often bareback, over those years. And she begged George to let her ride with him at age 18, then she did whatever it took to become one of the greatest riders of our time.

The “whatever it took” included braiding and riding many different horses. Her barn work was non-stop–she loved watching grooms and veterinarians do their job. Melanie also participated in Pony Club and read all the books so she would get great marks on the tests. She feels it was an easy way to really learn the material.

Jennifer also had the benefit of starting her riding career on her parent’s farm. And she too rode every horse and pony she could. She then was able to ride with Maxine Best, and she took care of Gem Twist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and then worked for a sales barn. For the past 15 years she’s braided, driven the van, and become one of the top hunter riders in the country. Still, she was disappointed that George’s clinic was only three days long.

Lou started his riding career on his father’s farm in East Aurora, N.Y. He was a natural from the start. And now that he’s competing as an amateur, he believes that Bill Steinkraus had a huge influence on his life. He can relate to the fact that Bill was an Olympic rider while he had a job outside the horses.

Lou also believes that Bill was on the cutting edge of the process of visualizing his riding. Almost every sports therapist today asks their students to visualize what they do, no matter what the sport. Bill used to use the time he spent driving to ride his horses thinking about his riding, just as Lou tries to do now while working in his family’s business.

He told me that watching Melanie in the clinic gave him someone to imitate for each exercise that George gave them. Lou said that watching people ride is his passion, a passion he shares with his wife, Joan, and his daughter, Charlotte, just as he did with his father, Jeremy Jacobs.

Lou also told me that, after 25 years of training with Joe Fargis, Joe has taught him the love of the horse, a wonderful attribute that Lou believes is very contagious.

George Morris is a great chef d’equipe for our show jumping team, a man who has traveled all over this country and Europe to ride, show and give clinics. He’s on the cutting edge and leading the United States to the top, and we all need to watch, read and learn from George to benefit from the fantastic system he’s helped put in place.

Susie Schoellkopf