More than 500 people attended the Equestrian Aid Foundation Ride for Hope Celebrity Roast, held at the International Polo Club in Wellington, Fla., to celebrate the extraordinary lives and careers of Jessica Ransehousen and George H. Morris.
The most successful fundraiser in the history of the EAF, the event was organized by six-time Olympian Robert Dover and hosted by Roastmaster Peter Doubleday.
During the evening of Feb. 26, participants paid tribute to Morris and Ransehousen’s accomplishments as riders, teachers and mentors. Fourteen people took the stage and dozens more were featured in a video—all telling their fondest memories, funniest stories and choice impressions of Ransehousen and Morris. Here are just a few highlights.
“I’m very afraid that my reputation has been tainted tonight.”
– George Morris
“It’s been a wonderful evening. It has made an enormous impression on me. It’s just been so much fun.”
– Jessica Ransehousen
“I remember a clinic George was giving and Ellie Richards was riding in it. She was a giggler when she got nervous. He said to her, ‘If I rode like you’re riding, I would be crying, not laughing.’
– Fred Bauer (in his best George Morris voice)
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“When I first met George, I thought he was the most handsome man…. He had hair then.”
– Melanie Smith Taylor
“I just wanted to say thank you to Jess for hanging in there with me. I know I probably embarrassed the hell out of her when once I lost my shoe at the jog and it hit the judge in the head. We hung in there, and we had a lot of wonderful times together.”
– Debbie McDonald
– Beezie Madden to George Morris
– USET team veterinarian Dr. Midge Leitch
“George has shown that he isn’t just the best at getting individuals to excel, but he has a rare quality of turning a handful of individual riders into a team. I remember that virtually the first time I met him, he walked up to me and said, ‘I deal with princesses every day, but you are the first real princess I have ever met.’ To George and Jessica, thank you for your inestimable contribution to the sport. For everything you have given us, we salute you.”
– HRH Princess Haya bint al Hussein of Jordan, President of the Fédération Equestre
Internationale
– Darren Chiacchia
“We were at the last Olympic Games, in the middle of the stadium after we marched in with all of the other athletes from the Olympics. We’re out there and having a good time.
– Robert Dover
“All George wanted to talk about was Hollywood and acting. We’ve all seen his performance in clinics. He’s a very fine actor!”
– actor Tab Hunter
“What was so wonderful about George is that he took all of us as various students. He took what they had and what they naturally came with. He didn’t try to mold them all or change their style. He worked with what we all had and just made us better. I always felt with the right horse and the right conditions that I could win anywhere in the world if George was by my side.”
– Melanie Smith Taylor
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“George had a wonderful horse named The Jones Boy, a horse he was bringing along. George was a very calm and cool rider. One day at Lake Placid [N.Y.], he had a not-so-smooth round in the preliminary jumpers. He came out, and I was waiting at the out-gate to tell him how well he had done.
“He leaped off the horse, threw his hands in the air and yelled, ‘I’m not riding anymore! I’m not riding! Any! More! I can’t do this! Katie, you’re riding Jones Boy.’ That’s how I got the ride.
“Many of us riders depend on rich owners. At the time of The Jones Boy, George was a professional horseman. He was my owner, and he wasn’t a rich millionaire by any means. One day a buyer for The Jones Boy came from California with his briefcase with $150,000 in cash. That was a lot of money 30 years ago.
“George told me the horse was sold. It was a 100-degree day. I took George into a car, and we were there sweating. I cried and said, ‘George. This is my chance. Please don’t sell this horse. It’s my chance to go to the top.’ And he didn’t sell him. He backed out of the deal.”
– Katie Monahan Prudent
