It's likely the name Russ Fawcett will always be synonymous with helping handicapped children.
It's said he worked wonders with them. But there's much more to the person that many came to associate with CANTER, a local therapeutic riding program for the disabled. An expert horseman with a passion for horses and a gift for teaching, it seems Fawcett touched the lives of all who knew him. Russ Fawcett, who died on New Year's Day at St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, was the lead riding instructor for Cochise Area Network of Therapeutic Equestrian Resources.
In addition to his work with CANTER, Russ, along with his wife Susan Fawcett, was involved with the Thunder Mountain Pony Club, where he served as the organization's riding instructor, and was founder and president of the Cochise Dressage and Eventing Association. He gave private lessons in eventing and dressage and was known for setting high safety standards when working around horses.
Raised on a ranch near Laramie Peak in Wyoming, Fawcett grew up a cowboy, working cattle and training horses at a young age. During the late 1940s, he started training horses professionally for Wyoming ranchers as a teenager. In 1974 he married his wife of 32 years, Susan Fawcett, who shared her husband's love for riding. It was through Susan that Russ got a formal introduction to dressage, a form of English riding that he pursued, studied and completely embraced. Once hooked, it quickly became his new passion and he continued to train in and teach dressage for the rest of his life. "Russ may have been raised as a cowboy, but he's English through and through," Susan Fawcett once said.
In addition to his work with horses, Russ Fawcett took time to earn a degree in journalism and was an editor for two Wyoming newspapers, the Wyoming Stockman‑Farmer in Cheyenne and the Casper Star Tribune in Casper.
Attracted to this area's climate and the fact a therapeutic riding program was in place, the Fawcetts left their home in Wyoming and relocated to Sierra Vista 10 years ago.
In a lifetime that spanned more than seven decades, Russ Fawcett transitioned from western range and rough stock rider to a highly accomplished English and dressage competitor. His work with CANTER focused on helping handicapped riders improve balance and coordination through individual programs that he designed. Children who are enrolled in CANTER affectionately referred to him as "Mr. Russ."
"It was amazing to watch him with those children," said Mary Anne Somerville, who sits as president of the CANTER organization. "Things like language development, following directions and physical coordination improved because of his interaction with the children. It was just magical."
While CANTER will certainly feel Fawcett's loss, the riding program has other certified instructors in place and will continue to move forward with its scheduled course load, Somerville said. As an accredited member of North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, CANTER's riding instructors must get certified through NARHA.
Through his work as the former director of the local pony club, Jim Martin has known Russ and Susan Fawcett for about seven years. "In the time that I've known Russ, I've come to recognize him as a true western gentleman and a man of impressive abilities, and sensibilities," Martin said of his friend.
"At the heart of what drove Mr. Fawcett in everything that he did was an uncommon compassion for people and for horses. But it went deeper than that. His compassion was based upon a rare innate knowledge of both. He will be deeply missed and long mourned."
This article was taken from the Sierra Vista Newspaper, The Herald. The article appeared on Saturday January 6, 2007 and was written by staff writer Dana Cole. Music: Song of Wyoming by John Denver fron his Windsong Album.
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