USET Foundation Awards Triple Paralympic Gold Medalist Rebecca Hart the 2025 Whitney Stone Cup
January 18, 2025 - Wellington, FL
Photo by Jump Media
Photo by Devyn Trethewey/US Equestrian
The United States Equestrian Team (USET) Foundation presented the 2025 Whitney Stone Cup to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games triple gold medalist Rebecca Hart at its Gold Medal Club reception held on January 17, 2025, at the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida.
The award acknowledges the para dressage athlete as an active competitor whose consistent excellence in international competition and sportsmanlike conduct as an ambassador for the sport and for the USET Foundation exemplify the USET Foundation’s and US Equestrian’s (USEF’s) highest ideals and traditions.
Hart of Loxahatchee, Florida, rode Floratina, a 17-year-old Hanoverian mare (Fidertanz x Rubin Royal OLD) owned by Rowan O’Riley, to a clean sweep of gold medals in Paris, France, marking the rider’s fifth consecutive Paralympic Games. She rode to a personal best score of 83.534% in the freestyle test to seal the triple and claim her final gold medal in Paris.
“I am incredibly honored to be selected for this trophy,” said Hart, a Grade III athlete. “It is an incredible testament to just how far para dressage has come as a discipline. I have loved helping to bring adaptive sport forward and hope to be able to continue to do so. It’s an honor and a privilege to represent the USET Foundation, USEF, and my owners and sponsors on the field of play. I love having this platform to celebrate para sport and our success on the world stage.”
Prior to the 2024 Paralympics, Hart was partnered with another horse of O’Riley’s, El Corona Texel. The combination rode to impressive achievements including a silver medal and a bronze medal at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in North Carolina, and team bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in Japan.
“I’d like to acknowledge my personal support team and the amazing horse owner and sponsor Rowan O’Riley,” stated Hart. “We wouldn’t have enjoyed these results without her dedication not only to me but the entire discipline of para dressage. Team success comes when we plan and work together, and Rowan was an integral part of that.
“When I first started in para, we didn’t have access to the support and programs that we do now,” continued Hart. “I love that we have been able to develop this program so much with the help of the USET Foundation. I have watched this discipline grow from a struggling fledgling sport into having the number one-ranked team in the world. The financial and structural support from the USET Foundation and USEF — on top of the huge amount of effort from sponsors, owners, and my fellow teammates — are what made these results possible.”
Hart is focused on seeing the U.S. Paralympic Dressage Team on the top step of the podium again at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games facilitated by the continued growth and interest in the discipline and fueled by the team’s success.
“I want to see more para riders coming into high performance sport,” she said. “Disability is often considered a weakness, but it’s actually a strength. When we embrace our differences and change our perspectives, the entire community becomes stronger. My advice to any aspiring Paralympians is to figure out how to make your body work for you and find a solid support team; one that can think outside of the box. You can teach your horse a language that is unique to you and your abilities. Be organized and persistent in working towards your goals.”
The Whitney Stone Cup, which was presented to the Team by the Officers and Directors of the USET, is given in honor of the late Whitney Stone, who served as President and Chairman of the Board of USET, and who was instrumental in the creation of a civilian team when the Army retired from competitive horse sports after 1948.
Past Recipients of The Whitney Stone Cup
2024 – McLain Ward
2023 – Will Coleman
2022 – Laura Kraut
2021 – Roxanne Trunnell
2020 – Boyd Martin
2019 – Laura Graves
2018 – McLain Ward
2017 – Laura Graves
2016 – Phillip Dutton
2015 – Chester Weber
2014 – Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden
2012 – Christine McCrea
2011 – Tucker S. Johnson
2010 – McLain Ward
2009 – Steffen Peters
2008 – Miranda “Randy” Caldwell
2007 – Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden
2006 – Elizabeth “Beezie” Madden
2005 – Chris Kappler
2004 – Debbie McDonald
2003 – Peter Wylde
2002 – Guenter Seidel
2001 – Tucker Johnson
2000 – Karen O’Connor
1999 – Valerie Kanavy
1998 – David O’Connor
1997 – Leslie Burr Howard
1996 – Anne Kursinski
1995 – Robert Dover
1994 – J. Michael Plumb
1993 – Carol Lavell
1992 – Lana DuPont Wright
1991 – Hap Hansen
1990 – William Long
1989 – Gregory A. Best
1988 – Bruce O. Davidson
1987 – Katie Monahan Prudent
1986 – Conrad Homfeld
1985 – Joe Fargis
1984 – Carole Grant
1983 – Melanie Smith (Taylor)
1982 – Norman Dello Joio
1981 – James C. Wofford
1980 – Michael Matz
For additional information or to support the USET Foundation and U.S. equestrian athletes and horses, visit https://www.uset.org/donate/.
