Interview With Dressage Rider And ParaOlympian Rebecca Hart

I had the absolute pleasure of being able to interview Rebecca Hart (the 2 time national champion!) and ParaOlympian. I was at a show waiting around for the Young Rider’s scores to come out when I saw them shorten one of the rings and a young woman ride in with an upper level horse. It took my brain about 30 seconds to put it all together. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of seeing a ParaOlympic level test it is basically a test ridden in an upper level frame, but without as many upper level movements (think a 4th level frame doing a 2nd level test). The levels and movements depend on the riders classification of ability and can vary even in the class. Once the young woman on the chestnut was done I saw a very familiar duo enter the ring. I have seen dozen of pictures of Rebecca Hart over the years. She is considered the gold standard for ParaOlympic riders, and a damn good dressage rider in general. I went to the secretary’s stand to confirm it was indeed the legend, and then I had to track her down after her test. Luckily, Rebecca Hart was REALLY nice and very friendly. Not many people with her list of accomplishments are as genuine as she was. She agreed to do an interview for the blog so I hope that you all enjoy! Thank you again Rebecca Hart for taking the time out of your day for an interview with me!

1.) How long have you been riding?
I have been riding for 14 years

2.)Have you always ridden dressage?
I started out as a hunter/jumper and switched to dressage in 1998

3.) Did you start riding at a therapeutic riding center or a lesson barn (I am guessing riding center…I only read a little bit about FSF but the online articles make it sound like it does not start to show itself until puberty…is that true or should I know better then to trust the internet)?
You are almost right about FSP—There are two versions (late onset and birth onset; late onset doesn’t start until puberty and birth onset starts at birth). I personally have birth onset. I am unique for para-equestrians. I started riding at an able-bodied lesson barn, at the time, the therapeutic center in my area didn’t offer any classes that would allow me to ride independently. I started riding with Ray Herhold and Stephanie Rickerson. Once I started to ride for Para-Equestrian, I started training with Missy Ransehousen.

4.)Have you always owned a horse? Who was your first horse?
I started out borrowing horses to ride, train, and compete; as was common for para-equestrians. About 9 years ago, the rules changed and para-equestrian’s were required to compete their “own” horse. It was at that time that I bought my first horse. My first horse was a little grey Arabian named Eli.

5.)How did you find Norteassa?
I found Norteassa in 2004 while traveling with the Team to Athens. The team was training in Holland before the games and Norteassa was the “reserve horse.” I had borrowed a horse for the World Championships, from his owner, the year before and she was nice enough to allow me to ride Norteassa while we were in Holland. I sat on him and loved him—we just clicked. I have an amazingly supportive family and with their help, I was able to bring him home.

6.)Can you tell us a little bit about Norteassa?
Norteassa “Pippin” is a German Hanoverian gelding. He is 18 years old and has competed successfully at the FEI. He has been a privilege to get to ride and compete. He is not always the easiest horse to show, as he can get a little unsettled at times, but he has taught me a lot and we have had a ton of amazing experiences together throughout our career.

7.)When did you decide that you wanted to do international competitions?
I love to compete and it was always a dream of mine to get to go to international competitions. I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to live those dreams. I could never have done it without all of the wonderful people who have helped and continue to help me.

8.)Where is the coolest place in the world have you been to compete?
I have been to several really awesome venues. I have two that stick out in my mind. Hong Kong was fabulous. The venue and the people were all fantastic—they had the welfare of the horses first and foremost in the planning. It holds a special place in my heart because it was the venue of my first Games. The second was getting to ride in the main ring in Aachen, Germany. So many dressage greats have been in that ring; it was an honor to get to ride there.

9.) Did you get to see any of the Olympic competition yourself or were
you too busy training?
I unfortunately did not get to see any of the other sports until after we were done competing because of our training schedule during the games.

10.)What was it like to ride for the United States in the Para Olymics?
It was an honor to get to ride for our country and I hope I get to do it again. It was a lot of fun to walk in the opening/closing ceremonies and be with all of the other competitors and see the other countries walking together.

11.)How many shows do you go to a year? Is it like an every weekend kind of thing, or more like a once a month thing?
When we were getting ready for the games, we were showing almost every weekend going to qualifiers. If we do not have any major competitions to gear up for, we try to limit our showing in order to keep Pippin fresh.

12.)Would you rather have a really nice ribbon, or a really nice score?
I would rather have a good score. I think they provide you with constructive feedback and give you a tool to further improve yourself and your horse—although I am a fan of nice ribbons!

13.) What was the best prize you have ever won at a horse show?
I love my Maui Jim sunglasses. I always look like a bug when I wear sunglasses and the ones from Maui Jim are the only ones that don’t bugify me! Another interesting prize that I won was a snowsuit. I won it in Belgium at the World Championships, it has actually come in really handy during some of our nastier winters—it also doubles and works well when we go snowboarding.

14.)What is the one show you are looking towards now?
I am looking at the WEG. It is the main competition in my focus right now. I have a few other smaller shows to get us ready, but the WEG has most of my attention.

15.)Do you need any modifications when riding/mounting/dismounting? If
so what are the?
I have two breakaway Velcro straps to help hold my leg steady when I compete. They are allowed under FEI because of my dispensation card, but everything else is standard.

16.)What do you do for a living (and does it cover the cost of your horse habit or do you have sponsors)?
I am currently a student at Penn State and am working off my riding habit at the farm where I board Pippin, but while I am finishing school–I also work at Starbucks, which is convenient because it is my other addiction. I am studying to be forensic accountant and expect to go into that field when I graduate in December (YAY!!). Forensic accounting is finding out what people did with the money, where it went, and how they did it. Think CSI but with numbers.

17.) Who are you currently training with and where.
I train with Missy and Jessica Ransehousen out of their farm in PA.

18.)If you could clinic or train with anyone in the world, who would it be?
I would love to train with Robert Dover. I have watched him teach Missy several times and have gotten to watch him school horses at his farm in FL and his riding blows me away. I wish I could do what he does on the back of a horse.

19.) Did you ride dressage in college for the Penn State Team?
I did not ride in college for Penn State. Between training for the international shows and studying for my classes, I didn’t have enough time.

20.)When people see you at shows, would you rather they ask you questions about riding with a disability or ignore it?
If it makes someone more comfortable, I would much rather they ask me questions about my riding and my disability. We are all in this crazy horse world together and I think that the more we can understand about one another and the different opportunities that are out there, the better it will be. Para-equestrian is still in its fledgling stage. I want to be able to get it more acknowledged as a high-level and respected sport.

21.) How did you get so good! We are nearly the same age and you are so good! Any tips you can give to us struggling dressage riders out there?
All I can say is that the best teacher is your horse. They are very good at lifting you up when you need it and also humbling you when you need that to. I also recommend finding a trainer that you can connect with and understands exactly where you want to go. They are the cornerstone in your career.

22) What is your favorite food?
I love Chocolate anything with it is fabulous!!!

23) What kind of saddle do you have?
I ride in a county saddle.

24) Do you have a good luck charm?
I have several good luck charms. The most unique is my lucky plastic artichoke. It has to go with me to every show!!

I hope you all enjoyed learning about one of the top dressage riders in the country, I know I did. Rebecca seems pretty nice so if anyone out there has any questions for her maybe she will answer them. I wish Rebecca the best of luck getting to WEGs and you know I will be cheering her on in the future. Not only was she a nice person, she was a great horse woman who even on a very hot and muggy day made sure her horse was untacked and put away before she got out of her penguin suit…and that says a lot about a person.

Advertisement