Post by Giselle Morgan on Jul 9, 2012 18:18:59 GMT -5
giselle anna morgan.
THIRTY-ONE. FEMALE. TEACHER. HETEROSEXUAL.
I don't have infinite time here, so let's make this quick. I'm Giselle Morgan. Call me Giselle, please, I'm thirty, not eighty. I own and operate Brass Ring, as well as teach some of the jumpers. That's what I was doing before you interrupted me and asked me to introduce myself. What is this for, anyways? A newspaper column?
Newspapers. I guess you want to know how I got my job, hmm? I started riding when I was three. I'm a third-generation trainer. My father did eventing, my mother was a more hunter kind of girl. Both still compete, although dear Dad's shifted to the jumpers - can't be galloping at fixed fences at his age, you know. I rode the pony. The Pony, the only one in the barn, bought specifically for me. Dad didn't want me doing the only sport where you have to have your medical information strapped to your arm, so my first class was leadline at... I think it was Devon. Might have been Old Salem. I can't remember, it's been so long. Pretty standard progression - pony hunters, pony eq, children's hunters, the 3' eq, junior hunters, and by the time I was seventeen I was showing in the big leagues. You know, the big eq. I had the medals and everything. I was pretty close to winning all four finals, but damn if I didn't sprain my ankle two days before the WIHS. Brianne Goutal actually did it a few years ago, but I'm on to bigger and better things.
I don't mean bigger fences. I don't know if that's possible. I spent a few years doing the hunters, but my true love is in the jumpers. Kind of wish I figured that out when I was, you know, a junior. Eq was great and all, but it was boring. I spent all my time on heels down, and I got burned out. I wanted to go fast and high. Still do, when my knee's not bothering me too much. Speaking of my knee, it's why I don't do the really big classes anymore. I tore my ACL when I was 25 and it still hurts when I crank my stirrups up for jumpers. That's why I stick to teaching - I can stay in a reasonably long leg and not have to worry about clearing five feet.
I don't know if you can tell, but I'm pretty strict about everything. Tack rooms kept straight and clean, boots polished even for schooling, and god forbid any student of mine tries to wear a pink shirt to show. I've got years of experience teaching the best of the best, and I'm not about to ruin my reputation by letting some loser into the ring with a dirty pad or an unbraided horse. I guess I don't really know how to relax.
I am damn good at my job, and don't you forget it. I've never really been allowed to not be focused and good. The horses don't get a day off because they don't feel like working, and hell if I'm going to put myself before the horses.
Good Golly is sixteen, kind of getting up there, but she's sound and still a fantastic eq horse, even for the 3'6". I call her Molly, and she was my jumper when I was twenty and she was six. That lasted for a few years, but she didn't have the pace to get around the big courses in good company. Leased her out to a student of mine, and she's been a fixture at all four Medal finals for three years running. She's so easy, she's hard. She's trained to be an absolutely effortless ride, but that doesn't stop riders from trying to muscle her into submission. Really, all you have to do is shift your weight for a turn. Leave her mouth alone, leave your spur off, just... sit there and look pretty. If you want to ride her, just ask. She'll take you around the jumpers or the eq, as long as you're a very quiet rider.
Newspapers. I guess you want to know how I got my job, hmm? I started riding when I was three. I'm a third-generation trainer. My father did eventing, my mother was a more hunter kind of girl. Both still compete, although dear Dad's shifted to the jumpers - can't be galloping at fixed fences at his age, you know. I rode the pony. The Pony, the only one in the barn, bought specifically for me. Dad didn't want me doing the only sport where you have to have your medical information strapped to your arm, so my first class was leadline at... I think it was Devon. Might have been Old Salem. I can't remember, it's been so long. Pretty standard progression - pony hunters, pony eq, children's hunters, the 3' eq, junior hunters, and by the time I was seventeen I was showing in the big leagues. You know, the big eq. I had the medals and everything. I was pretty close to winning all four finals, but damn if I didn't sprain my ankle two days before the WIHS. Brianne Goutal actually did it a few years ago, but I'm on to bigger and better things.
I don't mean bigger fences. I don't know if that's possible. I spent a few years doing the hunters, but my true love is in the jumpers. Kind of wish I figured that out when I was, you know, a junior. Eq was great and all, but it was boring. I spent all my time on heels down, and I got burned out. I wanted to go fast and high. Still do, when my knee's not bothering me too much. Speaking of my knee, it's why I don't do the really big classes anymore. I tore my ACL when I was 25 and it still hurts when I crank my stirrups up for jumpers. That's why I stick to teaching - I can stay in a reasonably long leg and not have to worry about clearing five feet.
I don't know if you can tell, but I'm pretty strict about everything. Tack rooms kept straight and clean, boots polished even for schooling, and god forbid any student of mine tries to wear a pink shirt to show. I've got years of experience teaching the best of the best, and I'm not about to ruin my reputation by letting some loser into the ring with a dirty pad or an unbraided horse. I guess I don't really know how to relax.
I am damn good at my job, and don't you forget it. I've never really been allowed to not be focused and good. The horses don't get a day off because they don't feel like working, and hell if I'm going to put myself before the horses.
Good Golly is sixteen, kind of getting up there, but she's sound and still a fantastic eq horse, even for the 3'6". I call her Molly, and she was my jumper when I was twenty and she was six. That lasted for a few years, but she didn't have the pace to get around the big courses in good company. Leased her out to a student of mine, and she's been a fixture at all four Medal finals for three years running. She's so easy, she's hard. She's trained to be an absolutely effortless ride, but that doesn't stop riders from trying to muscle her into submission. Really, all you have to do is shift your weight for a turn. Leave her mouth alone, leave your spur off, just... sit there and look pretty. If you want to ride her, just ask. She'll take you around the jumpers or the eq, as long as you're a very quiet rider.