MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – It’s the only time each year horses are allowed on Myrtle Beach sand and it’s for a good cause raising money for heart disease prevention and stroke.
The 38th Annual American Heart Association Beach Ride has drawn twelve hundred riders and their horses from 22 states for a five-day ride that supports prevention, research, and personal experience for those combatting heart disease.
One in three people is affected by heart disease and one in five by stroke. The event aims to raise money to reduce the one death every 38 seconds that involves someone with cardiovascular disease.
Team Noah is a group of family and friends who have participated in the five day Myrtle Beach Beach Ride together for seven years as it was research, doctors, and the organization’s support that saved Noah’s life.
At seven days old, Noah was flown to have open heart surgery after being born with a heart defect. Seven years later, a banner tells his story as he and his team celebrate raising nearly $90,000 dollars for the American Heart Association over a period of one year.
Many people ride in honor for their own life or a loved one’s life saved with the help of doctors, procedures, and research.
Others ride to honor the stranger’s life they saved years ago.
Carmalee Scarpitti attends her sixth beach ride raising money for the heart association after performing CPR on a 40-year-old woman who had ventricular fibrillation, saving her life.
The event continues through Sunday and the American Heart Association hopes to reach its goal of $400,000.