Hometown: Wellington, Fla. Birthday: 10/26/1984 Sport/Disciplines: Para-Equestrian Paralympic Years: 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020
Rebecca Hart got involved with the Paralympic movement in 1998 at a regional competition in Atlanta, Ga. It was at that competition that Hart decided she wanted to aim for international competition. Hart purchased her first horse and began to train for national and international competition. Over the years, Hart has represented the U.S. at several international events, including five consecutive Paralympic Games. Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games led to her best team finish yet, as a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team aboard El Corona Texel.
Following a series of standout accomplishments with Schroeter's Romani, Hart retired the Danish Warmblood mare and teamed up with El Corona Texel in September 2017. They quickly garnered 11 Grade III first-place finishes out of 13 opportunities, which helped them earn a spot on the U.S. Para Dressage Team presented by Deloitte for the WEG Tryon 2018.
Hart and El Corona Texel were selected to represent the Adequan® U.S. Para Dressage Team at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival 1 CPEDI3* in Wellington, Fla., in January of 2020. The duo was also named to represent the team at the Tryon CPEDI3* hosted in Tryon, N.C. in October 2020, where they also were crowned the national champions of the 2020 Adequan/USEF Para Dressage National Championship.
In 2021, Hart and Fortune 500 earned a Perrigo CPEDI3* team win and finished first in the Grade III Individual Test at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival 3. Hart partnered with El Corona Texel to collect another Perrigo CPEDI3* team win at the AGDF 9. At the Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI3*, Hart won the team competition and each of the Grade III classes, riding El Corona Texel and Fortune 500.
In 2022, Hart was a member of the Adequan U.S. Para Dressage Team that traveled to Herning, Denmark for the 2022 FEI Para Dressage World Championships where she helped the team earn bronze with El Corona Texel. The duo also secured an individual bronze in Herning, marking their third fourth championship medal together.
In 2024, Hart debuted a new horse in her quest to make her fifth straight Paralympic Games, this time aboard Floratina. The pair have proved to be one of the top combinations in Grade III competition, earning tremendous scores since the start of their partnership in 2023. Hart and Floratina will represent the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games this summer.
Rebecca is the daughter of Sue Dobson and Terry Hart. She has one sister, Katie, and one brother, Jordan. In her free time, Hart enjoys kayaking, sailing, camping and rock climbing, and giving back to the Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Foundation by bringing awareness about HSP and working with the children dealing with HSP.