Unrelenting: The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights and My Pursuit of Excellence

For a reader like me who grew up on the fringes of the A circuit in the 70s, it's a wonderful gossipy, nostalgic read. (My junior show barn is mentioned a couple of times, as well as many riders I knew and admired.) George's voice, is well, 100% George and pretty much as you'd expect from his clinic persona His ego, his flair for drama and turn of phrase, and his notorious attention to detail are all present and accounted for. (While they are included, he airily dismisses his suspensions for both reserpine and poling, all while insisting that he does things the slow, methodical, classical way.) I bought the hard cover version for the photos, and it was well worth it.I find the other reviewer's comments about his personal life puzzling. There was absolutely nothing graphic in this memoir, he is positively coy and circumspect when he describes his personal life. And from the 70s on, there was simply never any question of his sexual orientation. He was about as out as it was possible to be. I just don't understand where either the shock or the distaste are coming from.I find it hard to imagine that anyone outside the hunters or the jumpers industries would have much interest in this book, but for those of us that are or have been inside that world, it's fascinating. If you want to know about the evolution of forward seat riding, hunter seat equitation, the amateur rule, the evolution of the selection process for our Olympic Teams or just read a lot of gossip about virtually everyone in the business, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this memoir.

I'm not sure if someone who has no knowledge or background in horse showing/hunters/jumpers would appreciate the book as much as I did. But I didn't want the book to end, savored it as a glass of fine wine and enjoyed the length of it. I was a little kid who who grew up on the "poor side" of Darien (where Ox Ridge is) who worshipped horses and her distant cousin (who rode in the Garden in the late 60's with Ronnie Mutch-GHM's early riding buddy), then this kid (me) learned to ride and care for horses at New Canaan Mounted Troop (having no idea until reading that book that George ever rode there briefly), and moved on to groom on the A circuit, braiding horses and traveling to various shows with different trainers over the years--all of whom were mentioned in the book and many of the riders. I even went to the Invitational a few months before heading off to college in 1976. I groomed for about 10-15 of the people George mentioned in this book during the 70's before and during my college years--all except George, LOL! Reading this book was amazing as I only experienced him peripherally as I worked many of the shows he also did. Florida and the Northeastern circuit: Ox Ridge, Fairfield, Boulder Brook, such memories--he was, back then, quite a fearsome character, many of us were scared to death of him!I really enjoyed this book, hearing from George's perspective and how the sport has progressed. Over the past 20 years, I would come back and visit ORHS with my kids and was surprised to see how much the show and sport had changed. It was helpful to read the GHM version of the context of these changes. Since reading this, I've taken to watching GHM clinics online with my 18 year old (horse crazy) daughter! Thanks, George for your contribution to keeping the horse's well-being a priority and helping people be better horsemen/women. Nice read!

This writer has the best fundamentals of our group this month, but exhibits many of the flaws so common in today's publishing arena. The lack of adherence to the classical principles of writing detracts from what is an otherwise solid book. This author needs to spend several weeks writing without stirrups before attempting a project of this size.This writer is advanced enough to execute an automatic release but has resorted to a crest release, creating a broken line between plot elements. Instead of relying on the fundamentals to provide a solid base, he is leaning on pretty pictures for support. His back is flat and his eyes are up.This book appears to be a very capable story. However, many of the transitions in this book are abrupt and on the forehand. With more attention to detail this book could go from adequate to a superstar. Until the basics are mastered at home, I would not allow this book to be published.This book is a good rough draft, but needs some polish to really shine. Spending at least 45 minutes each day editing would make it a standout on the book shelf. Flashy elements, such as exclamation points, detract from the story and should be used sparingly, or not at all! The mane needs to be pulled and the subtitle could use a trim. The author needs to pay more attention to details to really show this book's true potential.Despite the above critique, we gave this book 5 stars because it has George Morris standing at the in-gate.

The previous review, with it's jumping metaphors, is cute but misses the point. Sure.....for those not immersed in the show world, this book could read as a laundry list of Morris's nurtured riders and their events. I chose to see it another way. I agree that more editing could have eliminated the abrupt fits and starts from reminiscence to record keeping and, yes, we all cringe at too many exclamation points. But who cares? The man is obviously passionate and a genius in his field. He's been brave enough not only to cross the line into memoir but to do it in his own voice. This isn't about rubs and knocks. His influence in the forward seat and in discipline per se is all you need to recognize excellence. Appreciate the fresh, the green and the heart in the writing and stop looking for grand prix.

I am a huge fan of George Morris (he's my horsemanship idol) and downloaded the Kindle edition as soon as I became aware of this book's existence. I was so ready to love every word, but the writing is simply awful. There is no organization to the telling of his life's story so far (I'm only 15% into the book) and I'm getting bored of him just piecing together events that don't assemble into a picture of his life. This volume is proving to be simply an exercise in bragging and name-dropping, with tedious tributes from the various people he's known sprinkled too liberally (these really break up the flow of the narrative.

I have all of George Morris' previous books and this one doesn't let me down either. Lots of pictures, clear, informative, interesting text. I celebrate that he is unrelenting in his respect for horses and his support for classical humanity in riding. Thank you

Awesome insight into one of the greatest coaches & horsemen the equestrian world has been blessed with. I have been fortunate to attend two GHM clinics as a rider here in Australia, and I hope to attend more. He is brilliant

Wow, George holds nothing back in this autobiography. I am still reading it and am really enjoying glimpses into a life filled with some of the greatest horses and Horsemen of modern times.

An interesting story about an equestrian icon, written by the icon himself. Definitely some surprises. A little disappointed that the back cover of the book was pulled away from the rest.