ENDURANCE HORSE RIDER WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS TO COMPETE IN PAN AMERICAN ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Alexandra North and CV Butter Bea Set Sights on World Endurance Cup Team
CARMEL, CA (PRWEB) August 26, 2003 -– The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life
Project (MSQLP), whose mission is to serve multiple sclerosis patients in
Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties, today announced that endurance
horse rider, multiple sclerosis patient and MSQLP spokeswoman, Alexandra North,
will compete in the Pan American Endurance Championship (PAC 2003).
Held
in Trout Lake, Washington on September 13, 2003, PAC 2003 is an elite, 100-mile
ride over challenging and spectacular terrain that winds through the forests
flanking Mt. Adams, a 12,276-foot volcano. Completion of the PAC 2003 with a
satisfactory ranking is critical in order for Butter Bea and North to be
considered for the USA Team going to the World Endurance Cup in December 2004,
held in the United Arab Emirates.
Race officials will be present at PAC
2003 to monitor horses, riders and crew as part of the World Cup Team selection
process. For more information about PAC 2003, visit http://www.endurance.net/2003pac/.
“Butter Bea and I
have our sights set on a spot racing with the USA World Cup Team, and I think
we’ve got a good chance of making it,” said North. “Last year, Butter Bea
finished in the top ten, 21 out of 27 races. At the end of the racing season,
she ran six races in less than a month, and won five of those six races. After
four years of intensive training, Butter Bea has become an endurance machine
with a competitive spirit that can be crushing at times.”
North took up
the sport of endurance riding in 1995, just a few months before she was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She is now in remission, which she credits to
endurance riding. In the true spirit of determination, courage and grit, North
and Butter Bea have never missed a race, even though North once had to be lifted
into her saddle because she was experiencing severe symptoms.
To date,
the formidable team have competed in 45 rides and logged over 2,500 miles. Their
accomplishments include Best Condition, Swanton Pacific, 75 Miles; First Place,
Ware Mare Award; First Place, West Region Overall; Easyboot Pioneer Award,
Middleweight Division for Multi Day Events; First Place, West Region
Middleweight Division; Sixth Place, National Mileage; XP Gold Medal for Multi
Day Events; and Best Condition Overall, Bryce Canyon XP, 5 Days, 250 Miles.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects nerve function.
Characterized by symptoms that vary in degree and intensity, multiple sclerosis
is unpredictable, and leaves some of its victims wheelchair-bound or bedridden.
A volunteer fundraiser for MSQLP, North encourages the community to sponsor her
rides, either by mile, by event, or in lump sum. Tax-deductible contributions
can be mailed to: MSQLP, P.O. Box 223537, Carmel, California 93922-3537. Funding
will enable MSQLP to hire a critically needed medical social worker.
“Our
multiple sclerosis population is spread over a wide, geographical area,” said
Dr. Lotte Marcus, co-founder and president of MSQLP. “Clients are forced to
cobble together treatment plans along an improvisational model - a model that is
both costly and that drains folks of energy. Our hope is that, with the services
of a medical social worker, this population will no longer feel like a medical
orphan.”
Dr. Marcus and Alexandra North welcome opportunities to speak to
the tri-County community about multiple sclerosis. Please contact Judy Plummer,
at (831) 335-4937 or e-mail protected from spam bots to request an
appearance.
About Alexandra North
An avid horsewoman since the age of
eight, North started endurance riding in 1995, a few months before she was
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In spite of unpredictable and sporadic
symptoms, North continues to pursue her passion for riding because of the
healing effects it provides. After learning about the Multiple Sclerosis Quality
of Life Project (MSQLP), she now competes to raise funds for MSQLP. In 2002,
North and her horse, Butter Bea, ranked sixth in the nation for miles raced.
Formerly with Dunlap, Slade, Lubow in Carmel, North launched her own CPA
practice in 1999 so she would have more flexibility to participate in endurance
rides. Prior to Dunlap, Slade, Lubow, North was with Maryanov Madsen Gordon
& Campbell in Palm Springs. North holds a BA in Journalism from Humboldt
State University, Arcata, California, and received her certificate in Financial
Accounting from National University in San Diego.
About Dr. Lotte
Marcus
Dr. Lotte Marcus, President and Chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis
Quality of Life Project, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in
Carmel, California, and was a lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine
at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Marcus has treated many
clients with multiple sclerosis, and has worked with multiple sclerosis clients
at the rehabilitation facility, Transitions, in Gilroy, California.
Dr.
Marcus, with her husband Alan, is the author of “Reflections on the Culture,
Politics and Psychology of Multiple Sclerosis,” as well as numerous publications
on illness counseling. Under the auspices of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the
National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Multiple Sclerosis Community Services of
Salinas, Dr. Marcus has made many presentations to multiple sclerosis to
patients. She has also addressed physicians at the Community Hospital of the
Monterey peninsula, at the University of California, San Francisco, and at
Sutter Medical Center in Santa Rosa (formerly Santa Rosa Community hospital).
On June 12, 2003, Dr. Marcus received The Spirit Award, presented by the
Freedom To Live Foundation in Los Angeles, in recognition of her
services.
About the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project
The
Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project (MSQLP), in cooperation with the
Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is a 501 (c)
(3) Non-Profit Corporation dedicated to improving the quality of life for people
with multiple sclerosis and their families in Monterey, San Benito and Santa
Cruz Counties.
Based on the results of a Needs Assessment Survey released
by MSQLP in 2002, there is a need for integrated, client-centered, care
management plans to ensure that multiple sclerosis patients aren’t slipping
through the cracks of the health care system. MSQLP is committed to fulfilling
this need by hiring a medical social worker who will serve ambulatory and
home-bound multiple sclerosis patients in the tri-County area to help them
overcome the physical and/or emotional problems that have made life more
difficult.
For more information about MSQLP or to volunteer your time
and talent, call MSQLP at: 831-457-7786.Tax-deductible contributions can be
mailed to: MSQLP, P.O. Box 223537, Carmel, CA 93922-3537.
Editor’s
Note: Endurance ride horses receive the very best of care,
with regular breaks for food, water, rest and veterinary checks. Races are
governed by the AERC, which has developed rules and strict controls to ensure
the health and welfare of the horses competing in endurance rides.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/8/prweb77443.htm