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Re: [RC] Sally Swift - Maryanne Gabbani

This was posted on another list:

Sarah Rodman Swift known to her worldwide following as “Sally Swift”
passed away on April 2, 2009. Sally was less than three weeks away from
reaching her 96th birthday. She was born on April 20, 1913 in Hingham,
Massachusetts to Rodman “Tod” Swift and Elizabeth Townsend Swift. She
had one sister, Agnes, who died in 2004.

Sally Swift was known all over the world for her innovative horse-riding
methodology known as “Centered Riding.” She was the author of two books
Centered Riding and Centered Riding II – Further Explorations which,
together, have had sales of more than 860,000 copies worldwide in
fifteen different languages. Sally was the Founder of Centered Riding,
Inc., which is the non-profit organization that oversees the worldwide
membership of instructors and horse riders. Sally began Centered Riding
at the age of 62 upon her retirement from the Holstein Association in
Brattleboro Vermont. Her first book, Centered Riding was published in 1985.

In August of 2006, Sally Swift was inducted into the United States
Dressage Foundation’s Hall of Fame. In June of 2008, she was presented
with the seventh annual Equine Industry Vision Award by Pfizer Animal
Health and American Horse Publications, an award which recognizes
innovation, ingenuity and service across the entire equine market.

At the age of 7, Sally was diagnosed with scoliosis, lateral curvature
of the spine. She worked for many years with Mabel Ellsworth Todd,
author of “The Thinking Body” who believed that you could control parts
of your body with your mind when you couldn’t direct them with physical
movement. Sally used concepts of her work with Mabel Todd to develop the
Four Basics of Centered Riding.

Sally was homeschooled until 7th grade and then attended Milton Academy
in Milton Massachusetts for her 7th through 12th grade education. She
graduated from Cornell University in 1947 with a B.S. in agriculture.
She worked for 21 years at the Holstein Association of America located
in Brattleboro, Vermont, retiring in 1975.

Upon her retirement from the Holstein Association, Sally began teaching
her friends at the rate of $10 per lesson and $50 per day for a clinic.
She never advertised – her teachings spread by word of mouth. Before
long, she was going up and down the East coast with her teachings. In
the early 1980’s, when Sally was in her early seventies, she began
travelling to other locations in the U.S., Canada and eventually to
Europe. In 1988, at the age of 75, she went to Australia to work
alongside Richard Weis, who was her first apprentice. Sally continued to
be very active in Centered Riding until her recent illness.

During the days of her illness, Sally was surrounded by her friends and
Centered Riding family who loved her. She was closely attended to by her
long-time friend, Lucile Bump, also of Brattleboro, her devoted friend,
Munson Hicks, her care-givers, and her special friend Francois Lemaire
de Ruffieu. Sally was well-loved by many, many people. Despite her fame,
breadth of knowledge and accomplishments, she greeted all who journeyed
down her path with warmth and humbleness.

Plans for a memorial service in honor of Sally Swift are underway and
will be announced on this website. In lieu of flowers, donations in
Sally’s memory can be made to Centered Riding, Inc. P.O. Box 157,
Perkiomenville, PA, Windham County Human Society, 916 W. River Road,
Brattleboro, VT 05301, The Heifer International Foundation. 1015
Louisiana St., P.O. Box 727, Little Rock, AR 72203 or Amnesty
International, 16th Floor, 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 1001

The world was made a better place by Sally Swift, and the horse world
and all who came to love her deeply mourn her passing.

The Wyndham County Humane Society


Her books were a special blessing for those of us without access to good trainers.

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx

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On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 8:18 AM, Diane Trefethen <tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Karen Everhart wrote:
?I am sorry to tell you that Sally Swift (Centered Riding) passed away this afternoon.

We have lost a second giant among those who wish to better understand and communicate with our gentle equine friends.

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Replies
[RC] Sally Swift, Karen Everhart
Re: [RC] Sally Swift, Diane Trefethen