Debbie McDonald and the Hanoverian mare Brentina have been America's leading dressage combination since the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Four years later at the 2006 WEG in Aachen, Germany, they helped to secure the United States the team bronze medal, but had to withdraw from further competition because of an injury.
It has been 8 months since Aachen, and McDonald has told Eurodressage that Brentina is doing great and is almost ready to strive for a berth to represent the United States one more time at the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong.
After the World Equestrian Games in August 2006, Brentina (by Brentano II x Lungau) was completely scanned and diagnosed with a strained tendon. Veterinarians treated the injured tendon with A Cell, a new product which uses regenerative medicine that provides a favorable environment for cell growth at the site of damaged tissue.
Brentina is showing great progress and is near to full recovery. "She truly loves what she does and we are hoping for a full recovery. Our plan at this time would be to do some shows late fall, hopefully in Europe, and then have one more chance to represent the US," McDonald told Eurodressage exclusively.
Based for the winter and spring at Linda Fowlers' Epona Farms in California, McDonald has had two major tasks at hand. Aiding in the recovery of Perry Thomas' top mare Brentina, and introducing her upcoming horse Felix (by Fabriano x Augustinus xx) to the Grand Prix.
Last weekend at the Festival of the Horse CDN in Burbank, CA, which coincided with the U.S. League Finals, McDonald and Felix scored 65.417% (2nd place) and 66.875% (1st) in the open Grand Prix classes.
"Felix is showing some great potential. I have trained him since he was three," Debbie said. "I did a couple of Intermediaire 2 classes early this year and he felt very content in there, so I tried doing the Grand Prix at this show. I couldn't be happier. I am very excited about Felix and he is such a character!"
Felix was purchased by Perry Thomas at the 2000 Verden Elite Auction for 220,000 euro. His auction name was "Fight Club" after the cult movie starring Brad Pitt, but Debbie changed the name into Felix. The combination placed 18th at the 2002 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses in Verden. Felix is now 10-years old and is McDonald's new hope.
"He is only 10 and I want to keep him happy, so my plan with him is to maybe do one more show at Del Mar at the end of the month," McDonald explained. "We will be going back to Idaho [River Grove Farm, Debbie's home in Sun Valley, ID] after that and plan on doing some shows in Europe with him in the fall as well."
We look forward to seeing McDonald with both horses in Europe!
Photo copyrighted: Amy McCool for Dressagedaily.com
Related Links
Coverage of the 2002 World Championships for Young Dressage Horses
Orion, Felix and Marlando, New Hope for American Olympians
Verden Auction Horse, Brentina
Brentina Withdrawn from Further Competition at 2006 World Equestrian Games