The U.S. Equestrian Federation’s much-anticipated 2011 George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session got underway bright and early Tuesday morning on Jan. 4 in Wellington, Fla., following a week of concern that Morris might not be able to attend due to a reported recent hospitalization.

However, Morris appeared to be his usual vibrant and outspoken self as he instructed some of the country’s brightest young jumping talent. Contrary to last year’s edition, coats, hats, mittens and long underwear were not required in order to audit the clinic as balmy temperatures welcomed about 100 attendees.

The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center feels like a universe unto itself. Even on an “off day” like Monday, the grounds are a hotbed of activity. Construction equipment, water trucks, tractors, golf carts, crowded schooling rings, helicopters, and even technical difficulties with microphones and speakers, which made hearing the commentary difficult, all somehow added to the atmosphere—in an epileptic sort of way.

Participants in this year’s clinic include:

• Ali Wolff—young rider individual gold medalist from the 2010 Adequan FEI North American Junior and Young Rider Championships
• Hayley Barnhill—winner of the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals and the ASPCA Maclay Finals
• Karen Polle—individual champion at the Randolph College/USEF National Junior Jumper Championship
• Brittany Hurst—winner of the USEF/Platinum Performance Talent Search Finals-East
• Taylor Ann Adams—winner of the USEF/Platinum Performance Talent Search Finals-West
• Kelsey Thatcher—wild card based on performance
• Lillie Keenan—first on the USA Equitation Computer Rankings List
• Molly Braswell—third on the USA Equitation Computer Rankings List
• Chase Boggio—fourth on the USA Equitation Computer Rankings List
• Victoria Birdsall—fifth on the USA Equitation Computer Rankings List
• Kate Haley—winner of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session
• Anna Hallene—second in the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association Emerging Athletes Program National Training Session

For this first session it was time to lower stirrups a few holes and focus on flatwork. Morris conveys a true appreciation for dressage principles, regardless of discipline. “Correct work on the flat is absolutely necessary for jumping horses,” Morris emphasized. “All exercises must be done from the back of the horse to the front, and you must always preserve impulsion.”

Morris put each group of six horses and riders through a rigorous series of exercises at both trot and canter, including:

• Shoulder-ins and counter-bending—“The horse must be evenly bent through his neck AND his body.”
• Lengthenings—“Go forward, then backward, forward, back, forward, and back to help supple the horse.”
• Straightness—“Straight means ABSOLUTELY straight!”
• Many transitions between gaits—”What’s most important is the frequency of the transitions.”

Riders practiced their own transitions between “full seat” and “half seat” while maintaining their horses’ tempo and balance. The concepts were relatively simple; however, seeing the emphasis Morris places on the correctness of the exercises made them refreshing to watch and served as a reminder of their importance.

The Horse Must Accept The Aids

Morris rode a horse from each group to further illustrate his points for maintaining a correct contact with the horse’s mouth.  “Every horse has resistances,” he noted. “But they must accept your legs, your seat, your hands, your voice, your stick and be submissive to those aids. Horses will achieve relaxation through submission.”

As Morris worked with each horse, he demonstrated one of his pet peeves that he often sees as riders try to bring their horses onto the bit. “NO FINGER JINGLING!” he exclaimed. “And don’t drop your hands. Just close your fingers and hold the pressure on their mouth, even when they resist, and get them moving off your leg. And never forget—you can take, but you must also give.”

Canter exercises were especially intriguing in demonstrating some of the horses’ (and riders’) strengths and weaknesses. Morris asked for shoulder-ins at the canter and precise simple transitions between walk and canter while using exactly eight canter strides at a time, which then advanced into simple changes of lead back and forth around the ring.

But the work really heated up when Morris instructed the riders to move on to counter-canter exercises each way, which progressed to flying changes across the diagonals. While riding Ali Wolff’s gray mare, Morris demonstrated an interesting hourglass pattern of counter canter around each end of the ring with a flying change of lead across the diagonal to the new counter-canter.

“Use of your outside leg and keeping a correct bend are most important in the counter-canter, but then making sure your horse is straight for the flying change is key,” he explained. “Keep your shoulders back and chest open when riding this exercise.”

When working, Morris expects a horse’s full attention and ready response to any aid, and he isn’t afraid to “get after them” when those expectations aren’t met.

“Just like with your kids, it’s tough love,” noted Morris. Even walking on a loose rein must be in a disciplined manner. As the horses began to cool out, Morris sharply reprimanded a rider whose horse was attempting to snatch the reins. “Don’t let him do that!” Morris barked. “Letting him stretch is totally different from allowing him to just pull on the bit.”

Morris is known for being frank and demanding when teaching, and several young riders bore some of the sting of his criticism today. But it seems too broad a definition to simply say that Morris demands perfection; rather, he expects a high degree of precision, promptness, and, first and foremost, discipline from both riders and horses, a belief which carries over into all aspects of training a horse, whether on the ground or in the saddle. As a spectator, I felt inspired to use this belief to ask more of myself, even in everyday flat work with my own horse.

It All Begins On The Flat

In the afternoon, Olympian Anne Kursinski further championed the importance of flatwork in her demonstration titled “How To Get the Most Out of Your Horse: Flat Work.”

“A lot of people think flatwork is boring, and we see a lot of draw rein use today,” Kursinski said. “But as jumping riders, we have to remember that many of the problems you may have over fences can be fixed on the flat. Conversely, any problem you may have on the flat will be magnified over fences.”

Kursinski demonstrated lateral movements, lengthenings, the importance of making sure the horses work from the hindquarters forward, use of clear aids and rewarding the horse for a correct response.

“The whole time I’m riding, I’m carrying on a conversation with my horse,” she said. Kursinski’s love and appreciation for the horses she works with was evident throughout the session.

Concluding the day’s activities, noted speaker Jane Savoie gave a lecture on “How To Think Like A Champion.”  

“Attitude is a choice,” she said. “Most success is simply due to attitude.”

She gave real-life examples of how sports psychology principles can significantly change how people ride and compete. “It’s OK to screw up, but what lesson did you learn from it?” Savoie asked. “Short-term changes can be made through the conscious mind. But long-term changes must be directed to the sub-conscious by utilizing visualization and self-talk.”

Jennifer M. Keeler is the former National Director of Dressage for the USEF. She lives in Lexington, Ky., and competes in hunters and pleasure driving with her palomino Quarter Horse, Whistlin Dixi Time. She will be sending daily reports from this year’s George H. Morris Horsemastership Training Session.