Unrelenting
The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights, and My Pursuit of Excellence
An instructional how-to, this is not. Rather, the new George H. Morris autobiography Unrelenting traces a line through 70 years of a life so intertwined with hunter/jumper sport, that in addition to a portrait of a man, a de-facto history of American equestrianism is illustrated within its pages.
Morris, who wrote Unrelenting with assistance from Karen Robertson Terry, traces his life via an articulate, honest portrait that combines first person narrative with frequent anecdotes from the riders and assorted cast of characters who have known him throughout the years. What comes together is a chorus of voices that unequivocally illustrate how one man simply is the sport of show jumping.
A staggering amount of outreach was accomplished to track down stories from generations of riders and weave them into the Unrelenting narrative. As George recalls a particular moment in his life, offset type from Frank Chapot or Bert De Nemethy; from Georgina Bloomberg or Chris Kappler tells the tale from his or her own perspective, which makes for engrossing two-dimensional stories, many of them an insider’s view on some of the most famous moments in sport.
The years that Morris spent as USET Chef d’equipe mark some of the most page-turning moments of Unrelenting; including the ups and downs of objective team selection, Sapphire’s unjust elimination at the 2010 World Cup Finals, and the drama of the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
The origins of some of Morris’ famous, quotable phrases are revealed in the pages of Unrelenting; who knew that “hospital or on” can be credited to Chrystine Tauber’s cracked ribs. As Chrystine recalls midway through the book:
“There was a triple combination at the bottom of the field and the horse I was riding slammed on the brakes at the first jump, a plank fence with a metal strapping along the top. I flipped over the horse’s head and landed on my back and ribs. I crumpled into a little pile on the ground, but managed to keep a hold of the reins. I laid there trying to breathe, having knocked the wind out of myself. From the megaphone comes George’s voice, ‘Chrystine, you have two choices my dear. You can either get back on and jump it or we call an ambulance! Which one is it?’ So I got back on and I jumped through it, then later I went to the hospital for the hairline fractures in my ribs.”
But as a person is defined by more than just their work, George Morris is defined by more than his. Unrelenting is deliberately no-holds-barred as Morris himself recalls his sexual awakening and coming out that coincided with the high-flying party atmosphere of the mid 60s and 70s. These are the details of life that the horse world has never been privy to, and likely never would have, if Morris himself hadn’t decided to put it out there. For many years Morris led a rollicking lifestyle that was marked by more than blue ribbons, and as he recalls his fast-paced relationships and episodes of his life marked by several years performing in New York City theater, as well as battles with hepatitis, sobriety, and prostate cancer, it’s clear that he was ready to lay it all on the table in this 400+ page tome.
And so while it is proven that there is good reason for the warning at the front of the book, (“those faint of heart or closed of mind may wish to proceed no further!”) the warning also sends the message that what lies between the pages of Unrelenting is very, very good reading.
At his core, Morris was and remains humble. As he tells it, the young George Morris was a fragile, nervous child. As we know him, he is still the strongest personality in modern American show jumping. In Unrelenting, he reveals both the vulnerability and strength that made him into the icon he is today. It is perhaps his bravest move yet.
George Morris at the Winter Equestrian Festival, January 2016
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Shipping begins February 27th, official release date March 15, 2016
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