Debbie McDonald (born August 27, 1954) is an American

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

rider who has competed in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and many international competitions. She now lives in

Hailey, Idaho Hailey is a city in and the county seat of Blaine County, in the Wood River Valley of the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The population was 7,960 at the 2010 census, up from 6,200 in 2000.hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

jumper Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing *Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United State ...

and trainer. Debbie trains and teaches riders on Peggy and E. Parry Thomas's River Grove Farm in

Sun Valley, Idaho Sun Valley is a resort city in the western United States, in Blaine County, Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum in the Wood River valley. The population was 1406 at the 2010 census, down from 1427 in 2000.mount Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

was an $800

pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

. She agreed that she would pay for board if her parents bought it for her. Shortly thereafter Debbie managed to find a gaited

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

near her hometown who allowed her to groom horses and clean stalls in exchange for board. At age 14, when Debbie went to turn her pony out, she discovered a strange man in his stall, beating him. She went running for help and ran into a young trainer and her future husband, Bob McDonald, who ran a hunter/jumper farm and hired her as a stable hand. It was at this facility that she began her career. McDonald began her career in

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

. However, she switched to

after a serious fall in which her horse somersaulted over her breaking ribs, rupturing her spleen, and fracturing a

vertebra The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...

in her neck, She first met Parry and Peggy Thomas when she got a catch ride at a dressage show in Las Vegas on one of their horses whose rider was not available. The Thomases also became the owners of

Brentina Brentina (foaled May 29, 1991) was an Olympic-level dressage horse ridden by Debbie McDonald. She was owned by E. Parry Thomas.

, a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

Hanoverian mare that became McDonald's primary mount. McDonald and her husband obtained the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

at an auction in Germany in 1994. Brentina,

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...

ed in 1991, had a suitable temperament to respect McDonald, who is only five feet tall, and the team established a partnership that took them to the Olympics. McDonald and Brentina began by winning the Individual and Team Gold medals at the 1999

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. In recognition of this accomplishment, McDonald was named the 1999 Equestrian of the Year by the

United States Equestrian Federation The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF or US Equestrian) is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917, as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed to the Ameri ...

and the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

(USOC) Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year. In 2003, McDonald become the first American rider to win the

Dressage World Cup The FEI World Cup Dressage Final is an annual international dressage series involving the world's best dressage horses and riders. It has been held since 1985. The World Cup is run in the form of a CDI. History The history of the World Cup ...

, and the pair placed third at the 2005 World Cup. As members of the

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

they won a team silver and team bronze at the 2002 and 2006

World Equestrian Games The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and are administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive ...

. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, the pair won the team bronze and were individually fourth overall, and McDonald was dubbed "First Lady of American Dressage."By the U.S. Equestrian Federation. "McDonald Fourth and Dover Sixth in Dressage Individual Final" ''The Horse'' online edition, undated, 2004, accessed January 25, 2010
/ref> Brentina was named the 2005 Farnam/Platform USEF Horse of the Year. After the 2008 Olympics, where the mare had an uncharacteristically poor performance, she was retired to the Thomas' farm. While McDonald went on to compete with other horses, Brentina developed an impaction in early 2009 and underwent

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

surgery to remove a

fecalith A fecalith is a stone made of feces. It is a hardening of feces into lumps of varying size and may occur anywhere in the intestinal tract but is typically found in the colon. It is also called appendicolith when it occurs in the appendix and is ...

from her small colon. She has since recovered and attended a retirement ceremony at the 2009 FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Las Vegas.Bryant Jennifer O. "Brentina's Colic Surgery: 'Routine' but Necessary, Surgeon Says" ''The Horse'' online edition, February 18, 2009. Accessed January 25, 2010.
/ref> On January 22, 2010 McDonald was named the U.S. Equestrian Federation's Developing Dressage Coach, a role designed to identify and cultivate future US Dressage stars. Morris, Joanie. "Debbie McDonald to Lead USEF Developing Dressage Program" United States Equestrian Federation, press release, January 22, 2010. Accessed January 25, 2010
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Debbie 1954 births Living people People from Hailey, Idaho American female equestrians American dressage riders Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Pan American Games medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games 21st-century American women