JoAnn Dawson has been a full time stable owner since 1983. She and her husband Ted currently own and operate Fairwinds Farm & Stables in North East, MD, offering riding lessons, summer camp, trail rides, horse-drawn carriages, pony rides, hayrides, birthday parties, fresh produce, weddings on the farm, and a bed & breakfast. (www.fairwindsstables.com.) Fairwinds Farm has been named a 2015 Horse Discovery Center, 2011 Cecil County Tourism Business of the Year and 2009 Outstanding Farm Operation, and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and on Good Morning America. JoAnn works as an animal wrangler for film and TV, and as a Screen Actors Guild member has held principal acting roles in The Sixth Sense, 12 Monkeys, and Oprah Winfrey's Beloved. She is the author of the award-winning Lucky Foot Stable series for ages 8-12 and appears at schools and book signings with her pony, Butterscotch. She is an appointee to the MD Equine Advisory Committee, a MD Farm Bureau member, a LEAD Maryland fellow, a board member of Cecil County EDC and Tourism Committee, and a 4-h leader, and gives inspirational speeches to middle and high school groups. JoAnn is the mother of two sons, Zach and Nick, and teaches both Equine Science and Acting Methods at Cecil College in North East.
