WASHINGTON – The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said Wednesday that her love of horses helped her overcome her fear that multiple sclerosis would put her in a wheelchair.

Ann Romney was guest hosting ABC’s “Good Morning America” when she spoke about her depression after receiving the diagnosis 14 years ago.

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Ann Romney pets Lord Luger as his rider, Rebecca Hart, a para-equestrian champion, joins her on “Good Morning America” in New York on Wednesday. The Associated Press

Justin Bieber ASSOCIATED PRESS

Lindsay Lohan

“I was very, very weak and very much worried about my life, thinking I was going to be in a wheelchair as well,” she said. “Turned to horses, my life has been dramatically different. They gave me the energy, the passion to get out of bed when I was so sick that I didn’t think I’d ever want to get out of bed.”

She is part-owner of a horse that competed this summer in the Olympic sport of dressage, the equine equivalent of ballet. She spoke about her love of horses while standing in New York’s Times Square, petting Paralympic horse Lord Luger as rider Rebecca Hart discussed how equine therapy helped keep her out of a wheelchair.

Romney also helped interview the competitors eliminated Tuesday night from “Dancing with the Stars.” The beginning of her appearance went a little awry when she said the show’s staff turned the heat up too high for her family’s Welsh cake recipe.

“I’ve got a cooking emergency!” she said, smiling as the camera turned to her pulling the cakes off the griddle.

She was filling in for co-host Robin Roberts, who is recovering from a bone marrow transplant. ABC says it is in discussions with first lady Michelle Obama for a similar guest appearance.

Mitt Romney told voters at an event in Ohio that he watched his wife’s appearance and saw campaign ads against him during commercial breaks. “It’s a good thing I don’t do that very often because my blood pressure would be very high,” he said.

In a separate interview shown Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Ann Romney said she immediately knew as the first presidential debate began last week that her husband would win because of the energy he showed.

“I knew after the first question,” she said in the taped interview. “I turned to my son after 50 minutes, and I gave him a nudge, and I said, ‘It’s 100 to zero right now.’ “

Bieber’s stuff stolen during his show

SEATTLE – Justin Bieber says some of his belongings were stolen while he was performing in Washington state.

The pop star tweeted to his nearly 29 million followers that he and his tour manager were victimized during his show Tuesday night at the Tacoma Dome. He didn’t say exactly what was stolen, but referenced a computer and a camera. He said what bothers him the most is that he had a lot of “personal footage” on them.

He adds that “people should respect other’s property.”

A Tacoma police spokesman didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment, and it’s unclear if a police report has been filed.

Police respond after fight at Lohan home

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Police were called to Lindsay Lohan’s childhood home in suburban New York on Wednesday morning after a report of a fight between the actress and her mother.

It was the third run-in involving the 26-year-old actress and police in the past several weeks.

Nassau County Police Insp. Kenneth Lack said officers were called around 8 a.m. Wednesday to the Merrick, Long Island, home where Lohan grew up. Her mother Dina lives in the home with some of her other children.

An investigation revealed “no criminality,” according to Lack. Celebrity website TMZ first reported the dispute.

Lohan was involved in a New York City police investigation about two weeks ago. She alleged a man had assaulted her in a hotel, but charges against him were later dropped.

In mid-September, she was accused of clipping a pedestrian with her car and driving away. She was scheduled to appear in court Oct. 23.

– From news service reports

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