Paralympic equestrian rider reflects on finally winning gold in fifth Games in Paris

When Becca Hart was a child, she didn’t have the same experience as everyone else her age or almost anyone else growing up.

While other kids were playing sports and taking dance lessons, Hart was often on the outside looking in, as she had been born with familial spastic paraplegia, a hereditary condition that weakens her legs.

“You’re going to be like everyone else. But the world quickly pounds into you that that’s not the case. And I was really mad about that,” Hart told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

But one day, she got on a horse. And nearly 25 years later, she’s a Paralympic gold medal winner.

Hart says she “struggled with my disability as a kid” as the “magic” of enjoying childhood was essentially gone. That is, however, until she rode a horse for the first time.

“But I was a horse-crazy little kid, and something clicked in my brain. This horse doesn’t care if my legs don’t work, they will do everything I need them to do. It was this light-bulb moment, and all of a sudden, I was able to take all the anger I felt and push it into a passion for horses and sport, and that was the catalyst for my obsession with horses and competing that has spanned over 25 years.”

Hart first participated in the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008, and it finally took until this past summer to earn gold; she is the captain of the USA’s equestrian dressage team.

But while she is not competing, Hart has worked at Starbucks since the year she made her Paralympic debut. But the company has become so much more than her place of employment.

“Starbucks has been wildly a part of my journey since before I was on the international scene. I was a working student trying to make my break into international performance. I needed a job, and Starbucks was there.

Becca Hart competes in Paris. (Mercury LLC)

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“My manager knew I was doing ‘professional sports’ on the side, and he said, ‘Why don’t you look at this elite athlete program? It might be something useful for you.’ I looked into it, and they’ve been one of my main corporate sponsors for the last 16 years. Having the flexibility to travel the world, keep my job and have the financial backing to support that has been kind of paramount to getting triple gold this year.”

Hart jokes that the alarm clock going off at 3 a.m. to head to work shortly after winning gold was a tough kick back into real life, but on her return to work, she got a champion’s welcome.

“They decked the store out in gold, everything, streamers, sparklers, balloons. And the entire community came in at the end of my shift, the entire fire department, sheriff’s department, the mayor, my friends, customers, they all came in, and we just had a blast,” she said.

Hart admitted there were times she had to keep herself from getting distracted while competing.

“When I glance to my right, there’s the [Château Versailles], the gardens, the waterfront, and I’m like, ‘Focus. Focus.’ I had to remind myself to really hone in,” Hart said. “I enjoy the pressure. Pressure is a privilege, but it’s tight. I needed a good performance, but I also needed a personal best, which is asking a lot in the Olympics, but we were able to pull it off.”

Gold medalist Rebecca Hart of Team United States poses for a photo during the Paris Summer Paralympic Games at Château de Versailles on Sept. 3, 2024, in France. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

And while her goal is finally accomplished, the best part about her sport is that there is longevity. Now, she wants USA equestrian to become a dynasty, and she will be in Los Angeles in 2028.

“We worked too hard and too long. We’re just getting good, we’ve just brought the U.S. into the spotlight, and I want to stay there, especially on home turf in four years.”

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