Rebecca Hart: Freedom on the Back of a Horse

“Horses are my equalizer; they allowed me to turn my anger into passion for a sport that improved my life. They allow us to play on the same field as everyone else.”

Born with the progressive muscle-wasting disease familial spastic paraplegia, Rebecca Hart found “normalcy” and freedom of movement on horseback. The 31-year-old Penn State graduate, who works for her sponsor, Starbucks, in-store and in a promotional capacity, moved to Wellington, FL, six months ago “to go all-in” on her run to Rio with the Schroeter Romani Syndicate’s Romani. Shortly before the WEG in Normandy, Becca was given the ride on the 11-year-old Danish-bred mare by long-time supporter Margaret Duprey. After seven years with Missy and Jessica Ransehousen (“I wouldn’t be the rider I am today without them”) at Blue Hill Farm in Unionville, PA, the Grade II paralympian is currently based at Duprey’s Cherry Knoll Farm where she trains with US dressage team rider Todd Flettrich.

Despite a torrential downpour, ring and schedule changes, extreme winds, cold weather, and a nearby helicopter landing, Becca and Romani were high-point overall champions both weeks of the Para-Equestrian Dressage Tour at Wellington in February. This came during a campaign which proved not only that the new training system is working, but also contributed immensely to the US team’s procurement of a berth at the 2016 Paralympics. With two fourth-place finishes at the Beijing and London Paralympics, Becca is hoping to go one step better (or “ideally three”) this summer in Rio de Janeiro.

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What’s a typical day like for you?

Luckily, I’m a morning person, because I go to work at Starbucks at 4:30 am (fortunately, there’s plenty of espresso!). I finish at 10 am and then go for my lesson with Todd. We have a tag-team session, because I have a hard time posting, so he’ll warm up Romani and then I’ll take over and ride for about an hour. In the afternoon I have physical therapy and then maybe work on a presentation that I will be giving at some point. I do professional and motivational speaking for the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation and for my employer and sponsor, Starbucks. Because of my early start, I’m pretty early to bed.

What’s your earliest memory of horses?

I was about eight and we were driving through Kentucky on our way back from vacation when I spotted a sign: PONY RIDES TURN LEFT. I begged my father to pull over and he did. I was terrified, but it was so exciting.

How did you get started working with horses?

We lived in the city [Pittsburgh] and my parents weren’t horsey, but from that pony ride I was like a lot of girls my age – pony mad. I started out with a lesson once a week. It took us over a year to find someplace where I could ride in an able-bodied program. I started working in the barn after school, feeding and watering and riding anything. When I was 16, my instructor told me that if I wanted to continue competing – at that time I was doing hunter/jumpers – I needed my own horse. My parents agreed and mortgaged their house to buy my first horse, a Rheinlander called Beckon. He bore the brunt of me figuring out my body.

When did para-dressage come to your attention?

It was my Mom who discovered para-dressage. Originally I wasn’t interested; I wanted to jump and go fast and I thought dressage was boring. But I became hooked. I love the intricate language between rider and horse. It’s fascinating that a horse will allow you to manipulate their body in such a way.

Explain the limitations of your condition and how you deal with it.

I have birth-onset familial spastic paraplegia which, initially, slowed down my development. My symptoms were relatively mild to begin with, but the disease is progressive so as I’ve aged, the muscle paralysis has gotten worse. Years ago I could use muscles which are dead now. Walking long distances and balance is very difficult and very painful. I can’t use my legs in competition, because they are essentially fully paralyzed. I use my shoulders a lot and my abs in order to get my body to follow suit. I’m allowed to ride with two whips which basically act as my legs. I also use different clucks for different moves – to change gait, slow down, or if I want more. Recently, some European riders suggested dropping my stirrups to minimize the effect of leg spasms and it seems to be working. It’s a little scary when you think that balance and abs are the only thing keeping me on the horse!

What are the most important elements in finding the “right” horse for you?

You would naturally think, being disabled, that I would want quiet and steady, but I actually like a hotter type. I need one that has a forward-thinking engine, because I would rather contain than create. Every para-dressage horse must have a phenomenal walk and any international horse must have sparkle. They need to be smart enough and kind enough to adapt and accept me. The first thing I noticed in Romani was kindness. I was at my worst physically when I went to try her in Denmark and she just seemed to look me up and down and say, ‘Yes, I can work with that.’

Can you identify a turning point when you realized you could reach the top?

The purchase of Pippin was the turning point for me. I was travelling alternate for Athens in 2004 with Beckon. We were training in The Netherlands and someone asked if I would be interested in trying this horse. I had never felt such a connection, even though he was a naughty little bugger!

Dad had wanted me to step back from riding and concentrate on college. He said, ‘Honey, wasn’t this supposed to be a phase?’ I told him, ‘I didn’t get that memo.’ I was at a crossroads and it was at that point I realized I had unfinished business. With Pippin (now 23) I won the national championships twice and went to Beijing. My parents sacrificed a lot so I could ride. I think that’s why I try so hard – to validate their sacrifice.

Horsepower and ultra-competitiveness aside, what else gives you an edge?

The right mindset and a certain tenaciousness. I know it’s not always going to go my way, but I have the ability, I think, to re-evaluate and make the changes. Doing things over and over again and expecting a different result is tantamount to insanity.

If a genie were to give you three wishes, what would you wish for?

A money tree first, and then I would wish for a high-performance training center for para-equestrians which would have a board of directors who would award financial scholarships. Number three might sound a bit trite, but I would wish for a more settled and understanding world. It’s pretty scary as it is now.

You wouldn’t wish for an “able body”?

I considered that, but my disability is a big part of who I am as a person and as an athlete.

Where is your favorite place in the entire world?

Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. It’s a wild place, very serene. I have such happy memories of family vacations there, hiking and swimming. Back then, when I was trying to figure out my body, if the genie had given me those wishes, I would have wished not to have this disease.