Rebecca Hart, 25, was born with a rare genetic disease called Familial Spastic Paraplegia (FSP). As an adult, it primarily affects her muscles and joints from the waist down. As a child, it also caused her to have difficulty gaining strength in her upper body for a few years and slowed all her motor development. Rebecca began riding at the age of ten.Rebecca has been the National Paralympic Champion in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Though she did not compete in Athens in 2004, she was selected as first alternate for the team that year. It was in Belgium that year that she first had the opportunity to team up with her wonderful Hanoverian gelding, Norteassa.