Racing for Lupus

Hi, my name is Ann-Gaëlle Bekaert and I have a mission and a quest; want to help me make an impact?

For my mom, Nathalie Bouckaert. Radiant with her little red cheeks, she has the biggest of hearts and is the most courageous human being. Although she was always courageous and big hearted, her red cheeks only became a part of her features some thirty years ago, when she was diagnosed with Lupus. Lupus is a chronic and complex autoimmune disease, lupus can affect any part of the body causing widespread inflammation and tissue damage in the affected organ. The most commonly impacted areas are the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys and blood vessels. There is still no cure, we hope to change that.

Unfortunately she has been struggling with the worst kind, causing inflammation on her heart, damaging her heart valves, her lungs, reducing her lung capacity to only 30% and even causing a thrombosis. Needless to say our youth and still today was/is filled with her being hospitalized and having to undergo very tough operations. She is one hell of a woman. Modern medicine can no longer help her cure, it can only somewhat stabilise the Lupus. That is why it’s so important funds are there to invest in research to understand and cure this horrible disease.

She's a horse girl, growing up with horses she had the instant connection with this magnificent beast, riding was her place of freedom and a family thing. So she also made it for us a family thing, always riding with us and teaching us about true horsemanship, she is now no longer able to ride due to Lupus. So I’m riding for her.

Last year I got selected to ride the Mongol Derby 2024, also referred to as 'The longest, toughest horserace in the world', inspired by the ancient postal routes in the Mongolian Empire of Genghis Khan, in which couriers could cover long distances in short time by means of horse changing stations. The challenge is to cover 1000km of Mongolian Steppe on semi-wild horses, changing steeds every 40km. You navigate and survive on your own wits and skill, living among the herders.

In her honour I want to ride the race of a lifetime and cross the finish line with the goal of raising funds for the Lupus Research Alliance. Its mission is to understand lupus better and to find personalized treatments and, one day, a cure. 100% of all donations go directly into supporting lupus research programs.

Help me make an impact and raise as much funds as possible for the Lupus Research Alliance, and my mom.

More info on LRA:

https://www.lupusresearch.org/

More info on the Mongol Derby:

https://equestrianists.com/

More info on me, Ann-Gaëlle Bekaert:

https://shorturl.at/sJT02