Sally Swift, 95, died today

[denny]

Sally Swift, who wrote the huge best selling riding book Centered Riding, died today at the Brattleboro, Vt Hospital, at age 95.

Sally was the epitome of positive, upbeat energy, and was a great friend to hundreds of us who ride and deal with horses.

[SUECLOUDY]

RIP Sally and I hope you are riding away and will meet up with all of your horses who went before you.
What a great horse person Sally was. I loved her books on Centered Riding, and all her videos.
She will be missed.

[Tiramit]

Godspeed, Ms. Swift. You gave so much to the sport! I'll forever remember to 'grow like a tree' and ride corners like a barber's pole.

[Sakura]

Godspeed. Her imaginative and descriptive ways of explaining things helped many a rider.

[caffeinated]

What a loss for the horse world :(

I always loved her books, and rather more frequently than I'd like to admit, I call to mind several of the images from them in an attempt to improve my riding.

She was a treasure, for sure.

My condolences to her family and friends...

[Pony Person]

____~_>>_/>
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Centered Riding is a fantastic book, and I've gotten so may good tips from it. RIP, Sally.:(

[grayarabpony]

Wow she lived to be old!

I love Centered Riding.

[caffeinated]

Godspeed, Ms. Swift. You gave so much to the sport! I'll forever remember to 'grow like a tree' and ride corners like a barber's pole.

The two images I always think of are the rider all "tied up in knots" and this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:5047_mfa_dallin_appeal_spirit-esmall.jpg

:)

[867-5309]

I taught a 'soft eyes' lesson today... RIP to one of the all time greats.

[ddashaq]

I am sorry to hear that!

RIP Sally

[Ambrey]

Fabulous book. I had no idea she had lived such a long life- happy trails beyond Ms. Swift!

[tkhawk]

RIP . I learnt under a centered riding instructor for a while and really enjoyed all the imagery-she lived a great life..

[SGray]

she lived a good life

[Lori B]

A great teacher and a great thinker about riding. I am always re-reading bits of her book.

I also have a comical t-shirt. There's a thelwell pony, with a rider hanging off the side, as the saddle has slipped... the caption is "Uncentered Riding". It always gets a laugh....

http://www.touchedbyahorse.com/zen-cart/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=115&zenid=a33834501934c116cc3aeac7a828327f

[cu.at.x]

I am so sorry to hear that. I, too have greatly benefited from Centered Riding. Godspeed Sally.

[BasqueMom]

Can't tell you how much her book helped me....still use her images. She will be missed!
Gallop on, Miss Sally!

[OnyxThePony]

Godspeed, Sally Swift. She gave so much to the equestrian community.

[Bayou Roux]

Godspeed Sally! What a gentle voice of reason. She will be missed...

[Gunnar]

I never got the soft eyes thing but Godpseed to you Sally! You were one of a kind!

[tikihorse2]

She was one of the greats, truly. Her first "Centered Riding" book helped me immeasurably in my riding. Her images were--and are--so clear and useful.

I only wish I could have met her. God bless her.

Kim

[saje]

Such an amazing woman. I was privileged to ride in two clinics with her before she stopped teaching, and she had a rare gift for it. She could make the minutiae of body movements come to the fore without losing the overall picture, and she had an incredible eye for what was going on in a rider's body.

She will be missed.

[2LeftHooves]

I had the pleasure of meeting Sally on many occaisons. I was always delighted when I was told she was coming/or we were going to see her. She touched so many lives and her teaching/writings will contiue to. She will be sorely missed.

[Penthilisea]

Wow- she's up there riding all the greatest horses and they are loving being ridden by her!

[Foxtrot's]

I agree - I thought she was the real deal.

[kookicat]

Weird conicidence. I bought that book just last week. Haven't had chance to read it.

My deepest condolences to her people. RIP Sally!

[JSwan]

Sally Swift, who wrote the huge best selling riding book Centered Riding, died today

I am so glad she was with us for such a long time.

Well done, Sally.

And thanks.

[Daydream Believer]

Godspeed Sally. God must have needed a great horsewoman in Heaven.

[Chief2]

One of the greats! I am sure all of the horses she helped are overjoyed to greet her on the other side of the bridge.

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

Oh, what a great loss for the horse world, but how lucky we were to have her. I never got to meet her but I've committed most of her book to memory by now, having read it more times than I can count.

The image I call to mind most is the cartoon of the little ghost appearing from behind a rock to menace a horse and rider. Whenever I feel nervous, I imagine that little cartoon ghost dancing around the edge of the ring trying to scare me - it makes me giggle and I forget about my nerves.

Now I'll be imagining a guardian angel as well. God bless Miss Swift.

Thank you Mr. Emerson for letting us know of her passing.

[Jeannette, formerly ponygyrl]

I don't have many regrets in life, but when I think how my years in Brattleboro were my sabbatical from riding, well...

What is it about Brattleboro which drew Sally Swift AND Tasha Tudor, I wonder?

Thanks for passing the word, Denny.

[JeanM]

OH NO!!!

I wanted her to live forever.

What an inspiration she has been for so many of us.

I am constantly drawing on Centered Riding concepts for myself & anyone I teach.

RIP you wonderful lady.

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

You didn't know me, Ms. Swift. But thank you. You may never know how many lives you touched.

[pintopiaffe]

I was IMMENSELY priveleged to audit a clinic with her back in the dark ages. I was grooming for a lovely person who I think probably paid the audit fee--but tole me it was free because I was grooming for her... It made a huge impact on both of us.

Later, when I was teaching, I discovered The Book and was able to expand on what I had learned that day.

A true TEACHER... her legacy will live for generations.

Godspeed Sally... :cry:

[BeastieSlave]

Even I have been touched (indirectly) by Sally Swift through attending a Centered Riding clinic with Susan Harris. Of course, I also own the book. Great stuff!

[bethechangexx]

Weird conicidence. I bought that book just last week. Haven't had chance to read it.

My deepest condolences to her people. RIP Sally!

I also recently bought the book from a local consignment shop (the first copy I've found.) I was actually reading it today (and this past week.) Can't wait to try out the techniques, already I am learning.
My prayers are with her family and friends.

Godspeed Sally. Thanks for touching so many people.

[Personal Champ]

Wow, that's too bad.

I just recently started taking lessons with Mitzi Summers, who is a Level IV Centered Riding instructor. I am really enjoying the lessons and am sad to hear of her passing.

[Noctis]

Godspeed Sally, you are already missed.

[WldGbl]

Riding in Sally's clinics was like walking down a path that you travel every day; but when you walked it with Sally, it was as though you never noticed just how wonderful that walk could be. A gifted teacher has left us.

[didgery]

Truly one of my heros - I'm glad that we had her for so long. Thank you for sharing the sad news.

[LuvMyperch]

What a grande instructor she was. The thing that stands out in my mind when I think of her is her saying to squeeze your hands on to the reins as if you were holding on to baby birds.....very gently. She is a legend.

[3horsemom]

sally swift's passing is a loss to everyone who aims to be able to give a sensitive ride to a horse. i wonder where the next generation of sally swifts will come from?
rip ms swift.

[Pirateer]

What a grande instructor she was. The thing that stands out in my mind when I think of her is her saying to squeeze your hands on to the reins as if you were holding on to baby birds.....very gently. She is a legend.

The baby birds was what I remembered also!

RIP Sally!

(Definitely going to go do a re-read of CR 1 ASAP! - Is the 2nd book as good as the first?)

[danceronice]

Centered riding got confidence-shattered me and hyperactive undertrained OTTB working together and back on track. Thank you, Sally Swift, adieu.

[TBMaggie]

:(:(:(RIP Sally...ahhhh, one of the 'greats' has left us. But has left us so much better for having known her. God Speed.

[Bezysmom]

RIP Sally. I loved her books. Soft eyes helped me with riding and tension headaches.

[Beasmom]

Wish i could have done a clinic with her. God bless you, Sally Swift.

[Zu Zu]

A must read for each and every horse person --I have read and reread --what a horsewoman! I am sorry to hear this news - it made me stop and pause and to remember all her lessons that helped me and my equine friends! THANK YOU !!!!

[Woodland]

My Mentor. My Teacher. My Inspiration Gods Speed Miss Swift!

[Buffyblue]

Godspeed, Sally. The horse world has lost an amazing teacher, but your legacy will live on. Thank you Sally, for sharing your gift with all of us.

[ride2endure]

RIP Sally :sadsmile:

I read this book when I started riding and it was amazing - I use so many visual pictures every day during my riding. When I was teaching to beginner lessons, it was invaluable in making a connection that students could understand.

I just ordered my own copy from Amazon and it will arrive next week. As mentioned above, anyone familiar with the second book? I'm sure it's just as wonderful as the first!

[eventamy]

Thank you Denny, I hadn't heard yet.

Sally has meant so much to me. I am lucky enough to live 10 minutes from Brattleboro and to have ridden at Southmowing Stables with Lucy Bump. I really feel for Lucy right now.

Before I was married, those of us who rode with Lucy at Southmowing took turns sleeping over at Sally's house to help her. She had neuropathy and it really caused her mobility problems, but she always had "old paint" her heavy duty all-terrain walker to help her out! I slept over Sally's house every Friday for about a year. I loved those nights with her. No tv, great horse magazines, conversation with Sally over the tiny table in her kitchen. Then me making her breakfast in the morning before I headed to work and her day nurse took over.
What an amazing sense of humor, and that twinkle in her eye. What a smart lady.
She just knew horses, but she also knew people and was always so kind.

We invited her to our wedding, hoping she could come, but it being 3 hours away, we knew that she wouldn't be able to. She was such a doll and sent me a signed copy of Centered Riding 2 before it was readily available to the public. That was so special to me, and other then the horse my old riding trainer gave me as a wedding gift, it was truly my favorite gift. My husband didn't understand why I had tears in my eyes when I opened up the gift with a book about riding in it, until he saw it was Sally's new book (with pictures of Pi the wonder pony in it!).

I love you Sally. Thank you for those conversations in your kitchen. I learned so much about life, love, horses and people from you. I can just imagine you're somewhere right now where your legs are working the way they used to. Where you're jumping again without a helmet and saddle pad, beautiful and young, the way you look in my favorite picture of you as a girl.

[Ride On]

I had the honor of riding with Sally quite a few times. She has helped me in my teaching and in my thoughts. She was a great lady and truly cared about the horse and rider.

I will always remember and cherish the times I worked with her.

[AppJumpr08]

RIP Sally.

I met her years ago at the NE Horsemens Conference in Augusta, and was amazed by how upbeat, kind, and talented she was.

I never got the chance to ride with her, but always wished I had.

A great woman has left us.

[La Gringa]

Sorry to hear this, she was a legend. She lived a very long life and touched many people with her knowledge and grace. Condolences to her family and friends.

[jazzrider]

So very sad to hear, but what a wonderful life she had -- to have touched so many people with her teaching. Godspeed Sally.

[kansasgal]

Just got an e-mail tonight from my local Centered Riding instructor, stating that Sally Swift passed away. Can't find any more info on-line tonight. Very sad.
Wow, what a legacy she has left us. She just seemed to keep going on and on.... I was hoping she would live forever.

[citydog]

She will be greatly missed.

Her book changed my life, and as a regular at Southmowing, I've been lucky enough to have gotten guidance from her even in recent years.

As Amy said above, I love to think of her riding her beloved horses again, her body strong enough once more to keep up with her amazing mind.

Godspeed, Sally. And thank you.

:sadsmile:

[Kenike]

Wow...what sad news. Thanks so much for sharing.
The baby birds pop into my head nearly every ride. I tend to actually be a little TOO soft and let the reins slide because of those birds!! Silly and wrong, I know...just one of my idiosyncracies.

Godspeed, Ms. Swift. I never had the chance to meet or ride with you, but I'm grateful for your wealth of knowledge and your heart to share.

[Hoofprince in Mud]

A loss to the horse world.

[ZiggyStardust]

Oh dear, I am crying! Not too much to be sad over, though, she lived such a long (and to me, amazing) life and touched so many people. I never met her but her first book has influenced my riding so much from the very beginning up to almost every time I get on a horse today. I still have and cherish the book I got 20 years ago. I love the picture of her in it, from the 40s I think, with her natural looking and kind style over a fence. I always stop on it whenever I open the book. Some of the imagery that sticks with me so well:

Soft eyes
Sitting straight and tall without forcing it, like I am hanging from a string attached to the top of my head.
Holding the reins like they are little birds.
Having water like a garden hose flowing out the bottom of my heels.

[nightsong]

Oh, what a great loss for the horse world
That it surely IS.

I found her first book nearly the minute it came out, in the college library when I was dealing with a straight-off-the-range horse (how to buy a horse on a college student's budget!). She's been "with" me ever since, and was AWFULLY tiny, frail and really elderly seeming when I had a clinic with her about 20 years ago.

[Sannois]

Godspeed Sally. We should all be so lucky to live such a long life! :yes:

[Bogey2]

eventamy, what lovely tribute to Sally.

[buck22]

a huge loss :(

[LD1129]

Condolences to the family! :(

[horsekpr]

I had the good fortune to ride with Sally in a clinic ,once ,many,many years ago. She seemed quite old then ,and I was amazed to see this post ,that she she could possibly have been here all this time.I had wondered ,and thought,"No she would have to be ancient by now."
She was a fantastic teacher ,and i have used her images many times in my teaching.Just a week ago ,i was using some of her stuff with a beginner man ,who has her book.He finds her imagery very helpful. i told him about my clinic with her and her little skeleton "Herman".
I am glad she enjoyed such a long life,and know that she contibuted so much to the world of horsemanship.We are all much richer for her stay with us. God Speed , Sally!

[CB/TB]

Wow, such a loss. I attended a "horseless" clinic with her at the old Johnson and Wales classrooms in Providence, probably back in the 80s. Her exercises and visualizations helped so much. Whata long and productive life she led.

[Carol O]

I heard it said recently that when an old person dies, it is like a library burning down. Sally was a great woman. The horse world is much better for her contributions. She will be missed; she will continue to live, however through her tremendous contributions to our understanding of our horses and our sport.

Thanks, Sally.

[Mags]

Ever time I ride I use some type of image from her books.:sadsmile:

Sally Swift will ride forever with all of us:sadsmile:

[monstrpony]

Sally Swift will ride forever with all of us:sadsmile:

How many can one say that about?

Thank you, Sally. I know you will rest in peace.

[Moderator 1]

Please join your fellow COTHers sharing their thoughts and memories of Sally on this thread (http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=198058) in Off Course.

Feel free to repost your comments about this great woman there, so everyone can share in one place.

Mod 1

[LD1129]

Rest in Peace Sally!

[Lori T]

How sad. I love her books. What a grand life she must have had!

[boosma47]

The softly held baby birds have been set free.

Thanks for all you shared with us so we could be the best we could be for our horses.

Godspeed, gentle Lady.

[LoveMyArabians]

Sally... A huge advocate for the horse... ride centered and all of us will have happy horses period.

Truly, in my opinion... the BEST horsewoman in the world.
Centered Riding is real, just try it on your horse... they will tell you in a nano-second by responding like they have never responded before.

Thank you Sally from the two-leggeds but most importantly from the
4-leggeds.

Cindy

[Petstorejunkie]

Sally was the greatest teacher I have ever had that I never had the pleasure of meeting in person.
Thank you Sally for enlightening the horse world and teaching us all how to ride in harmony with these magnificent creatures. You will be greatly missed.

[kansasgal]

I probably would have given up by now. I had been riding for more that 10 years before I discovered Centered Riding. I feel like Centered Riding "saved" me, in a way.

I think the biggest thing that she gave me was the ability to tune in to the horse and "feel" those moments of harmony. From Centered Riding I learned to find and celebrate those moments, every ride. I feel like she helped my to find joy in every ride.

Thank you Sally!

I only wish I could have met her, in person.

[seeuatx]

Godspeed Sally!

[MintHillFarm]

What a great life she had. I hope all we horse people get to see and experience as much as she did.
God Bless...

[farmgirl88]

RIP Sally. We just watched her videos in my Methods of Equitation Instruction Class the other week. What a fantastic lady.

As a cow lover also- i must also say that she ran the Holstein Association of America and was an advocate for the holsteins also as a graduate in Agriculture from Cornell.

What an accomplished life she had.

[Sonesta]

so long to one of the greats of the horseworld. Ride on, Sally!

[QuillcoteFarm]

I just read on the area1 forum that Sally Swift (Centered Riding) passed away. Sally was a wonderful instructor, teaching people how to be such a soft and caring rider. What a sad day. :cry:

[mp]

Thank you Denny, I hadn't heard yet.

Sally has meant so much to me. I am lucky enough to live 10 minutes from Brattleboro and to have ridden at Southmowing Stables with Lucy Bump. I really feel for Lucy right now.

Before I was married, those of us who rode with Lucy at Southmowing took turns sleeping over at Sally's house to help her. She had neuropathy and it really caused her mobility problems, but she always had "old paint" her heavy duty all-terrain walker to help her out! I slept over Sally's house every Friday for about a year. I loved those nights with her. No tv, great horse magazines, conversation with Sally over the tiny table in her kitchen. Then me making her breakfast in the morning before I headed to work and her day nurse took over.
What an amazing sense of humor, and that twinkle in her eye. What a smart lady.
She just knew horses, but she also knew people and was always so kind.

We invited her to our wedding, hoping she could come, but it being 3 hours away, we knew that she wouldn't be able to. She was such a doll and sent me a signed copy of Centered Riding 2 before it was readily available to the public. That was so special to me, and other then the horse my old riding trainer gave me as a wedding gift, it was truly my favorite gift. My husband didn't understand why I had tears in my eyes when I opened up the gift with a book about riding in it, until he saw it was Sally's new book (with pictures of Pi the wonder pony in it!).

I love you Sally. Thank you for those conversations in your kitchen. I learned so much about life, love, horses and people from you. I can just imagine you're somewhere right now where your legs are working the way they used to. Where you're jumping again without a helmet and saddle pad, beautiful and young, the way you look in my favorite picture of you as a girl.

Thank you for that lovely remembrance.

I only "knew" Sally through her books and tapes, which I've lent out to more people than I can count. But I always make sure I get them back again because I re-read and review them at least once every year.

Rest in peace, Sally. Thank you for putting so much of yourself into teaching others.

[Mtn trails]

I was fortunate enough to meet Sally when she visited the Steinkraus' to do a clinic. Sally had a centered riding discussion the night before at the Steinkraus' and she brought out Herman to demonstrate position and what would be covered in the clinic. It was a great evening and I always think back with fondness of that short time spent with her. I believe this was around 1979, before she had written "Centered Riding" and I recall her being quite white haired at that time as well. A grand lady indeed. Rest in peace Sally.

[JanDinWA]

When we lived in NH, my husband and I rode in several clinics with Sally. We enjoyed it a lot. I also got to just hang out with her once when we were both taking an Alexander clinic (we went to the same Alexander teacher). I had the privilege of going to her house and playing with Joy (her much loved JRT). Now she and Joy are together again! Thanks for all you taught us, Sally.

[WB Mom]

Sally was a true gift to all horsemen and women. Those who give of themselves tirelessly are rare and special. We all should be grateful for her wisdom and giving. Thanks Sally, for enlightening this and future generations. Your gifts will continue to give for years to come....

[Joyous]

Thanks Denny for the news of dear Sally's passing.

As I sit here thinking of all the times I rode under Sally's guiding eye, on so many different horses, all unique, yet all loved what Sally did to help them deal with ME! hah!

Sally was always warm and gentle in her instruction, and ever so encouraging of everyone doing better and better over the many years I rode with her.

She changed at least one generation of riders, and I'm thinking probably many more through her protege's and Centered Riding.

My old caliente hard hat is tipped tonight in remembrance of sweet Sally Swift.

'Joyous' Gaile Miller Avent
Symphony Hill Farm South
(formerly Norwich, VT - now Tennessee)
www.symphonyhill.com
mailto:joyous@symphonyhill.com

[nachohorse]

Sally taught me when I was a teenager when I thought I knew it all. After many lessons I learned I clearly didn't and gained a huge understanding of what it was to truly ride the horse without effort. She changed my course in the sport and I have never been more grateful for every piece of knowledge and inspiration she gave me. She was a phenominal woman and will be missed deeply.

[eventamy]

To see the article about her from this weekend's Bratt. Reformer:

http://www.reformer.com/ci_12070838

[MunchkinsMom]

Such sad news. Her book helped me to overcome my "survival rider" bad habits, and become a better rider.

And I share those same principles now as I teach my daughter to ride.

RIP Sally.

[Carol Ames]

ally Swift Passes Away At 95 Email this Article (http://www.chronofhorse.com/index.php?cat=120408082845294&Page_Uri=www.chronofhorse.com/index.php?cat=40511032791602&News_ID=1210304093651790&Send_Article=Sally%20Swift%20Passes%20Away%20At%20 95) | Print this article (http://www.chronofhorse.com/Portlet/Print_Friendly.php?Print=News&z_News_ID=1210304093651790)Sarah Rodman (Sally) Swift, the founder of Centered Riding Inc., died on April 2 at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Vermont. She was 95.

Ms. Swift grew up in Hingham, Mass., and developed scoliosis at 8 years old—a mild case that grew worse as she aged. Her first physical therapist was Mabel Elsworth Todd, author of The Thinking Body, who helped her into her 20s. Todd encouraged Swift in her riding, which she’d started as a small child.

Ms. Swift worked in the horse world as an instructor for 12 years before enrolling in college at age 30. She graduated Phi Kappa Phi in 1947 from Cornell University (N.Y.) with a bachelor of science in agriculture.

She retired from the Holstein Friesian Association in 1975 and returned to riding instruction. Her own physical difficulties and research into various alternative therapies informed her teaching style.

Ms. Swift's groundbreaking book, Centered Riding, was published in 1985. It described her revolutionary approach to developing a balanced seat and two-way communication with the horse. She later published Centered Riding II—Further Explorations in 2001. Together, the two books have sold more than 860,000 copies worldwide in 15 different languages.

“She had all these innovative ideas that nobody had ever heard of in those days,” said acclaimed eventer Denny Emerson. “She understood how your body works. Most people get tense and tight. They try to force the horse and force themselves. Sally could cut through that in a very quiet way. She was one of the real innovative thinkers in our sport. She looked at it from a totally fresh perspective and changed the way a lot of people ride. She was a class act in 100 ways. She was quiet and intelligent and compassionate. She was a real horse person. She never wanted to do anything through force, always working through to solutions. I think she softened up a lot of people like me who were rough and ready. Event riders in my day were pretty tough guys—there weren’t too many women, just a bunch of cowboys and cavalry guys. She was a shining light in that time.”

In 2006, Ms. Swift was inducted into The Roemer Foundation/U.S. Dressage Federation Hall of Fame. She earned the seventh Equine Industry Vision Award from Pfizer Animal Health and the American Horse Publications in 2008.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Sally’s memory can be made to Centered Riding, Inc. P.O. Box 157, Perkiomenville, PA, Windham County Humane 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.


Positive Drug Test Causes Shake Up For Sheikh Mohammed (http://www.chronofhorse.com/index.php?cat=40511032791602&News_ID=1210704091293362&Show_All=)Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president of the United Arab Emirates and the leader of Dubai, has decided to ban himself from endurance competitions after two horses he rode tested positive for doping...

[Carol Ames]

. She never wanted to do anything through force, always working through to solutions. I think she softened up a lot of people like me who were rough and ready. Event riders in my day were pretty tough guys—there weren’t too many women, just a bunch of cowboys and cavalry guys. She was a shining light in that time.”

[Carol Ames]

My horses have Sally to thank:yes:!ft, the founder of Centered Riding Inc., died on April 2 at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital in Vermont. She was 95.

Ms. Swift grew up in Hingham, Mass., and developed scoliosis at 8 years old—a mild case that grew worse as she aged. Her first physical therapist was Mabel Elsworth Todd, author of The Thinking Body, who helped her into her 20s. Todd encouraged Swift in her riding, which she’d started as a small child.

Ms. Swift worked in the horse world as an instructor for 12 years before enrolling in college at age 30. She graduated Phi Kappa Phi in 1947 from Cornell University (N.Y.) with a bachelor of science in agriculture.

She retired from the Holstein Friesian Association in 1975 and returned to riding instruction. Her own physical difficulties and research into various alternative therapies informed her teaching style.

Ms. Swift's groundbreaking book, Centered Riding, was published in 1985. It described her revolutionary approach to developing a balanced seat and two-way communication with the horse. She later published Centered Riding II—Further Explorations in 2001. Together, the two books have sold more than 860,000 copies worldwide in 15 different languages.

“She had all these innovative ideas that nobody had ever heard of in those days,” said acclaimed eventer Denny Emerson. “She understood how your body works. Most people get tense and tight. They try to force the horse and force themselves. Sally could cut through that in a very quiet way. She was one of the real innovative thinkers in our

[Dr. Doolittle]

Oh no! :(

Sally Swift was truly one of a kind; I frequently use her visualizations in my riding *and* teaching...I was always inspired by her remarkable life and her achievements--and especially by the fact that even though she was quite elderly, she was still spry and on the ball--and out there teaching :yes:

I can't tell you how tickled all we COTHers are to hear from YOU, Carol! :D

How are you doing?

[elio]

OMG have we lost one of the greats!!! God Speed is right! Our hearts are with you and hope to see you over the rainbow!

[RunForIt]

this is so strange, but just today as I was riding I thought of Sally...thanks so much for remembering her here, Snoopy. :)

[snoopy]

RunForIt:

It is easier for me to count the number of times when I did NOT think of sally whilst riding then it would be for me to count those times I did.
I had the pleasure of meeting her once when she made a point to have me stand there and toss rocks at me...literally. I seem to remember that most of the photos in her book were done at denny's place in VT.

[Becoty]

The photos from Sally's first book were taken at Huntington Farm in South Strafford, Vermont; just down the road from Denny's. The horse on the cover was Noah, and I believe it was Anne Hambleton riding.
Such a sad loss for the equestrian community.

[snoopy]

The photos from Sally's first book were taken at Huntington Farm in South Strafford, Vermont; just down the road from Denny's. The horse on the cover was Noah, and I believe it was Anne Hambleton riding.
Such a sad loss for the equestrian community.


AH yes!!! It was essie and reed's place. Everytime I hear S Strattord I can't be amazed that that tiny little town cranked out Beth, Bea, Tad....and maybe nancy bliss?! (though not sure about that one)
I do agree, a great loss

[tcgelec]

Sally's emphasis on visualization made such a difference to me in my early years of riding. When I would struggle with a certain concept, my instructor's words just seemed to be a jumble in my head. It wasn't until I read "Centered Riding" that I realized I wasn't hopeless...I just needed pictures. Sally's visual images stay with me til this day.

Her humility in dealing with fledgling riders such as myself made me realize that it wasn't too much to ask of an instructor to be treated with respect...respect for the effort you make to try to do this wonderful thing better.

Her words and images have served me well, and I will continue to think of her often, even though we never met face-to-face.

[Becoty]

If I remember correctly, Nancy Bliss was actually from N.H. originally. She was however, based out of Huntington for awhile and was at Denny's as well. It is also the hometown of Mara Depuy Dean.

[ZiggyStardust]

It is easier for me to count the number of times when I did NOT think of sally whilst riding then it would be for me to count those times I did.

Same here, and still true since the early 90s. Although I never met her, I am sad for the loss of her, but so glad she was here and willing to share.

[Moderator 1]

We, understandably, had quite a few separate threads going in different forums, so we've combined them here under one in Off Course, so everyone can share their memories of Sally and her work in one place.

The Chronicle ran the following article about Sally several years ago to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Centered Riding, which we'd like to share:

Sally Swift's Always Had An Unusual Take On Retirement
March 3, 2006 Issue

Looking out onto the more than 90 people assembled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her monumentally influential first book, Centered Riding, Sally Swift, 92, expressed her gratitude in trademark style: "This is really great. You're saying all these nice things about me. I'm so glad you did this while I'm still alive!"

Swift, who lives in Brattleboro, Vt., where the reception was held in conjunction with the 10th annual Centered Riding Symposium last fall, hasn't taken what many would consider a standard path on her way to becoming a world-renowned horse person.

"At the age where most people are starting to think, 'Where's the Barcalounger?' Sally was just spring-boarding her way into this brand new career," said longtime friend and former student Denny Emerson, one of the Chronicle's 50 Most Influential Horsemen of the 20th Century.

Having sold more than 500,000 copies printed in 14 languages, Centered Riding has affected equestrians throughout the world. The book, first published in 1985 by Trafalgar Square, presented Swift's imagery intensive approach to riding, which sought to improve riders' awareness of their bodies and, as a result, their connection with their horses.

"The difference between what Sally does and what most people do is that Sally took a piece of the equation--the human body and its relationship to the movement of the horse--and tried to make people understand how it worked," said Emerson, who wrote the foreword to Swift's book.

"People have a pretty strong work ethic about dressage [for example]. You say the word 'dressage,' and it conjures a seriousness of purpose, the word 'earnest,' the idea that 'I'm going to work really hard.' As soon as you work hard, you stiffen up, and the minute you stiffen up, your body doesn't move with the horse. Instantly, we have that Judeo-Christian work ethic that kicks in and paralyzes us," explained Emerson.

With Swift's belief that most instruction stresses what to do, instead of how to do it, she sought to simplify complicated concepts and make them accessible.

"The people who write those books about what to do are mostly what I've always called 'natural riders' and are automatically centered when they ride," Swift said. "They've never had to learn it, so they don't know how to teach what comes naturally to them."

Swift's presentation, which isn't discipline-specific, allowed her concepts to be applied to any occasion a person threw a leg over a horse, be it for a trail ride, a cross-country trip or a reining pattern. Since her book's publication, the concept of Centered Riding has expanded over the past 20 years to include a series of videotapes, another book, called Centered Riding 2, and an entire organization devoted to her training ideas and instructor development.

Anatomy And Horseology
Accumulating the knowledge to create her unique approach to riding wasn't a conscious effort for Swift. Instead, she came by it incidentally, as the by-product of dealing with her own anatomical demons. Born in 1913 in Hingham, Mass., at age 7, Swift was diagnosed with scoliosis, a spinal disorder that may have resulted from an undiagnosed case of polio.

When her condition was first discovered, Swift and her family sought the help of Mabel Elsworth Todd, a therapist and author of The Thinking Body. Swift worked with Todd into her 20s, utilizing her imagery rich teachings of anatomy and physiology to help contend with her misaligned spine.

"She kept anybody from putting me in a full-body cast or rods in my back, or any of that mess they were doing in those days," said Swift.

"She was wonderful, and she was very powerful. I suppose she was dictatorial--my mother did anything she said!" Swift recalled. "My mother was a marvel. She brought me up doing all these exercises, and then I went into a [leather corset] brace, but she never let me feel different. I was different, but she didn't let me take any advantage of that."

Swift, her older sister and her mother had always loved horses, and Todd encouraged Swift to ride as an exercise to balance and strengthen her lopsided body. Some of her first forays on horseback were earned working as a groom for her neighbor, who, in exchange, would pony the 9-year-old from the back of his Thoroughbred mare. She began riding regularly as a teenager, although without formal instruction.

Graduating cum laude from nearby Milton Academy, Swift began a career as a riding instructor, a pursuit she'd begun in the summers during school, working with a nearby trainer.

"Mrs. Todd didn't want me to go to college because that would involve too much sitting," she recalled. "I suppose I was an apprentice for two or three years after I graduated. I didn't pay her anything at that point, nor did I earn anything, except that I learned an awful lot about barn management in the process."

Swift's father encouraged her to go out on her own, which she did, teaching at a series of locations over the next 10 years.

"I kept going back to what Mrs. Todd had taught me. I'd think of an imaginary ball in my chest that would drop through my body and drop into my pelvis with a thunk, as though into mud. I made the connection and used [centering methods] in my own riding in my upper teens but I never used to teach it," she said. "When you're in your 20s, you don't go out on a limb and teach things nobody else is teaching!"

A conversation with a friend over a cup of tea inspired her to return to school, and the next day Swift applied to, and was later accepted at, what's now the University of Massachusetts. Majoring in dairy cattle and farm management because "cows were big, like horses," she transferred to Cornell University (N.Y.) after two years. "I think I was the last girl they took into the agriculture program for three years afterward because the boys were coming back from the war," recalled Swift.

Swift worked as a herd-breeding analyst for eight years before taking a job in 1954 with the American Holstein Association, based in Brattleboro. The world's largest dairy cattle breed association, they maintain records on ancestry, identity, ownership and performance for all registered Holsteins in the country. Working under the head of their testing department, Swift helped check reports and kept their records in what was the beginning of the computer age.

She worked at the AHA for 21 years, "retiring" in 1975 at age 62.

Swift, who had continued riding throughout her period of bovine diversion, looked forward to "teaching lessons to some friends for fun." No longer bearing the insecurities of her 20s, she began to share the centering techniques she'd practiced her whole life.

"I started teaching it to other people, and of course, it worked like a charm," she said. "It spread by word of mouth, and that's how Centered Riding got started. It never dawned on me it would go where it went."

Writing It Down
Once she'd gained a measure of fame in New England through her clinics, friends urged her to capture her instructional approach in book form.

"A book is relatively daunting if it's not your thing," said Emerson. "We kept telling her, 'You need to write this down.' She would say, 'Yeah, yeah, I will,' meaning 'don't bug me; I won't!' "

Although it took years of prodding, Swift began the laborious process of writing her ideas down by hand, even dictating some of the content for a typist to record. "I wasn't very good at it!" she admitted. "I wrote it the way I taught it, and you can't write a book, apparently, that way, so I learned!"

Caroline Robbins, who owned Trafalgar Square Farm Books, a U.S. distributor of limited-edition, niche books published by the English company David & Charles, was interested in publishing a book of her own. Her interest in horses and proximity to Swift's developing local phenomenon made the two a natural match.

"When Sally brought the manuscript in for Centered Riding, it wasn't a manuscript--there wasn't anything to edit at that point. Caroline looked at the first chapter and said, 'Eek! I can't read this!' " said Karen McCollom, an upper-level eventer and former Trafalgar employee who was called upon to bring some order to the chaos.

"It was a manuscript-sized pile of papers that was completely disorganized. It wasn't even as organized as one of her lessons--and I'd taken quite a few lessons with her--because it was so much broader in scope," added McCollom.

At a time when personal computers were just creeping into the world, McCollom faced the monumental organizational task without the ability to cut and paste.

"It was crazy. There were kids and dogs on the table and pages flying everywhere. It involved a lot of arrows and retyping, and pages that ended up in a drawer somewhere or under my dining room table that I would find later and have to add!" she said.

"Sally would drive to my house with her little dog, Joy, and she would suddenly think of another way to do it and would give me a lesson. She'd say, 'See, this is how it works,' and throw herself on the floor and start doing her exercises!"

McCollom, with input from Robbins, who did the final edit, worked with the maiden author to give her ideas a presentable shape, but the concepts in the book were all Swift's.

"She was very articulate in explaining things, but was just not methodical in her presentation," said McCollom. "All the core ideas and images were already crystallized."

The first book took two years to develop from an amorphous "lump of pages" into its wildly successful current form. Those involved thought its sequel, published in 2002, would be a piece of cake, but it was seven years in the making.

"I think [Centered Riding 2] is a better book. They go together beautifully, but it was more universally appealing. The jumping chapters were better. Sally doesn't really teach jumping, so she got input for those chapters from her instructors who did," said McCollom.

She explained that the second collaboration took so long because Swift continued to add more and more information as they went along. "Through her continued fame, she was learning from other people, international instructors, and there was constantly information coming in.

"At this point, she was very elderly, and she was still throwing herself on the floor and showing me things!" McCollom added. "Her dog, Joy, now very old, was still there, too!"

Absorbing The Shock
"One thing Sally used to say was, 'The function of a joint is to move.' But people become these rigid little robots," recalled Denny Emerson, who wrote the foreword to Sally Swift's Centered Riding.

"What Sally was able to do with the images in the book--and some of them get a little ethereal and too touchy feely for some people--is to get people to let their bodies go a little bit and allow the movement of the horse to be felt," Emerson continued.

"Essentially, you have this horizontal horse, that is a shock-wave machine, and you have a vertical rider, who has to somehow be a shock-absorbing machine. The book allowed people to understand that their body could adapt to that concussion and absorb it and dissipate it."

Mouse Wheels And Elephant Wheels
Beneath the vivid concepts that illuminate the Centered Riding movement, as its foundation, is Sally Swift herself.

"If you really analyze learning to ride, there's a lot of anxiety and a measure of fear, and out of that, it's easy to let a pall of a sense of insufficiency cast its spell over you," said Denny Emerson. "Sally doesn't let you go there. With her, everything is, 'Yes, you can.' "

"She has an incredible ability to observe and figure out things that are happening in a person and a horse and can retransmit the information she's absorbed in a way that's almost non-verbal," said Karen McCollom, who helped Swift write her books. "She helps people who learn physically and mentally, as well as verbally.

"Some of her images were hysterical. I remember laying my head on my desk, groaning, 'OK, so there are mouse wheels, and there are elephant wheels�'

"Sally is totally uninhibited in her efforts to make things seem as real and entertaining to people as they are to her," she continued. "She's so delighted in life at all times. She is so open to everything in life."

Observed Emerson, "She's one of those people that when you're around her, she uplifts you. She has that rare ability that when she walks into a room, everybody there feels better for her having spent time with them. That's an amazing gift."

Stacey Reap