Sally Swift’s Followers (10)

Sally Swift

Born

in Hingham, Massachusetts, The United States

April 20, 1913

Died

April 02, 2009

Website

http://www.centeredriding.org

Genre

Nonfiction, Animals > Horses

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At seven years old, a scoliosis appeared which became part of her daily life and was later instrumental in her development of Centered Riding. After the diagnosis and well into her twenties, she worked with Mabel Ellsworth Todd, author of The Thinking Body. Mable Todd was Sally’s first teacher in “body awareness” and encouraged Sally to explore her new “awareness”. This early training was enhanced when Sally began, and continued, to study the Alexander Technique™ and applied it to riding. Sally’s work with the Alexander Technique™ enabled her to discard the back brace she had worn for many years. The Alexander Technique™ is a method of re-educating the mind and body towards greater balance and integration with special reference to posture a At seven years old, a scoliosis appeared which became part of her daily life and was later instrumental in her development of Centered Riding. After the diagnosis and well into her twenties, she worked with Mabel Ellsworth Todd, author of The Thinking Body. Mable Todd was Sally’s first teacher in “body awareness” and encouraged Sally to explore her new “awareness”. This early training was enhanced when Sally began, and continued, to study the Alexander Technique™ and applied it to riding. Sally’s work with the Alexander Technique™ enabled her to discard the back brace she had worn for many years. The Alexander Technique™ is a method of re-educating the mind and body towards greater balance and integration with special reference to posture and movement. The Technique did not change any of her basic principles but added significantly to the depth and subtlety of her teaching. Sally worked with areas of the body rather than with specific muscles and used a balanced approach, teaching to both sides of the brain.

Sally was home schooled until 7th grade by her loving mother and then attended Milton Academy in Milton Massachusetts for her 7th through 12th grade education. After graduating high school, Sally studied with Phyllis Linnington in England and Colonel Guirey of the Boots and Saddle Riding School in New York City and also taught riding at various private schools.

Although discouraged by Mabel Todd from going on to college, Sally was determined to change her career, since at that time riding was only taught by "hard-boiled spinsters" or grooms with no education. Not wanting to be viewed as a "hard-boiled spinster" and having the benefit of a wonderful early education, Sally decided to attend the University of Massachusetts from 1943 to 1945 and then transferred to Cornell University. 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. During those years, Sally was active in the Brattleboro Riding Club and the Brattleboro Dressage Show. Under her leadership, the Brattleboro Riding Club Horse Show grew to be the largest single day horse show in the United States.

Upon her retirement from the American Holstein Association, Sally began teaching riding to a few friends and used concepts of her work with Mabel Todd to develop the Four Basics of Centered Riding. Sally charged $10 per lesson or $50 per day. This was the beginning of Centered Riding®. Sally never advertised her work; her teaching reputation simply 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 traveling to other locations in the U.S. and Canada, Australia and Europe. As she developed her techniques and taught people about the Four Basics of Centered Riding, the demand for Centered Riding clinics and Instructor clinics blossomed and has since become a worldwide organization with members all across the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland. Clinics are now beginning to be held in France and Japan, and interest in Centered Riding has been expressed in Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, among other places.

Sally Swift’s book Centered Riding, now a classic, was published in 1985 and celebrated its twentieth year in print in 2005. It's been translated into fifteen languages (in 2008, Korean became the fifteenth language) and has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide. In 1986, Sally produced two videos Centered Riding: Tape 1 and Centered Riding: Tape 2, which are readily available now in both VHS and DVD formats. A second book, Centered Riding 2: Further Exploration was published in 2002 and is following in its predecessor's footsteps with nine foreign langua ...more

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Sally Swift’s books

Average rating: 4.12 · 4,643 ratings · 286 reviews · 38 distinct works • Similar authors

	Centered Riding by Sally Swift, Jean MacFarland (Illustrator), Mike Noble (Photographer) 4.45 avg rating — 1,457 ratings — published 1985 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Centered Riding 2 4.43 avg rating — 139 ratings — published 2002 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reiten aus der Körpermitte 1. Pferd und Reiter im Gleichgewicht. 4.38 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Centered Riding 2: Further Exploration 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reiten aus der Körpermitte 01: Pferd und Reiter im Gleichgewicht it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Harmonia jezdzca i konia it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Equitación centrada 2 liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Centred riding. Equilibrio del corpo e consapevolezza interiore di uomo e cavallo 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	L'Équitation centrée: VERS UNE HARMONIE CAVALIER-CHEVAL 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reiten aus der Körpermitte. Bd. 2 Perfektion im Sattel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Sally Swift (?)

“Remember, the conversation between you and your horse must never be dull or inert. It should be, “Ask, receive, give. Ask, receive, give." Ask with your body and legs; receive through your body into your hands; give primarily with the hands, but also with your body and legs, so that you can ask all over again, receive again, and give again. The give is your thanks. If you don’t give, you must ask harder the next time, and even harder after that, until you end up with a dead or resistant horse. I have heard Major Hans Wikne, coach of the Swedish dressage team and head of the Swedish National School for Instructors, say so many times, “For everything you ask from your horse, your must give back a little more. The give is more important than the take." Riding is much more than a push-me-pull-you between leg and hand.”
― Sally Swift, Centered Riding

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Sally Swift’s Followers (10)

Sally Swift

Combine EditionsSally Swift’s books

Combine Editions
Sally Swift’s books