Debbie McDonald (Dressage)

Debbie McDonald is an international level Dressage rider with a long list of championships, medals, and blue ribbons to her name. It started in 1999 when Debbie and her horse Brentina took first place in the State Line Tack/United States Equestrian Team (USET) Intermediate 1 Championships at the Festival of Champions, earning them a spot on the Pan American Team in Canada, going on to win Team and Individual Gold Medals. That year the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) also voted Debbie Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year, the American Horse Show Association (AHSA) voted her Equestrian of the Year, and Brentina was named AHSA Horse of the year.

Debbie and Brentina have achieved a formidable list of notable achievements ever since; in 2001 they won the Grand Prix Championships at the Festival of Champions, in 2002 they once again won the Grand Prix Championships at the selections for the World Equestrian Games in Spain, winning a Team Silver Medal, finishing 4th individually. In 2003 Debbie and Brentina were part of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) team in Aachen, Germany, where they won a Team Silver and Bronze Individual. Debbie was the 2003 USOC Athlete of the Year. In 2004 Debbie and Brentina won the Freestyle Championships and went to Germany and showed in Dortmund where they won the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special. They were given a spot on the Olympic Team for Athens where they led the team to a Bronze Medal, and finished 4th individually. In 2005 Debbie and Brentina won the Freestyle Championships, giving them a spot in the World Cup where they finished 3rd. In 2006 Debbie and Brentina were given a spot on the United States WEG Team in Aachen, Germany, and helped secure a spot for the 2008 Olympics by winning the Team Bronze Medal.