Friday, July 4, 2008

Equestrian secures Olympic berth

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Debbie McDonald and Brentina perform at the River Grove Farm in Hailey. Photo by David N. Seelig

Hailey resident and champion dressage rider Debbie McDonald will be gunning for gold later this summer in China. She finished second overall at the Olympic dressage trials at Oaks Blenheim Farms in California while riding Brentina, her 17-year old Hanoverian mare.

That secured her one of the four Olympic berths.

She last competed in the Olympics in Athens four years ago where she took home a bronze medal. She lives in Hailey with her husband Bob, a trainer, at Peggy and Parry Thomas' River Grove Farm. This is Debbie's eighth year representing the U.S. In 2003 she became the first American dressage rider to win the World Cup.

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The Summer Olympics' Equestrian games will be held in Hong Kong, rather than on mainland China, which is fine by the McDonalds. The air quality is better and the facilities, a holdover from the great English horse racing tradition in Hong Kong, are superb.

"I'm very, very excited," Debbie, who will celebrate her 54th birthday on Aug. 28, said. "Brentina, who will retire after this, is better than ever. We leave on July 10, to Germany to spend almost a month training and in quarantine. Brentina will hopefully peak in Hong Kong. Then to Amsterdam. Then hopefully we'll be back in the Wood River Valley by September. We've been gone since January."

A welcome home party is being planned for the McDonalds and Brentina in September.