Home: Hailey , Idaho
Born: August 27, 1954

Debbie McDonald had the best finish ever turned in by a U.S. rider and became the first U.S. rider to hold the title of Dressage World Cup Champion when she won the 2003 World Cup Dressage Final in Gothenburg , Sweden . McDonald earned the Championship when she finished with a score of 78.89% in the Grand Prix Freestyle riding Mrs. Peggy C. Thomas's Brentina. She followed that up in June by helping the U.S. finish second in the team competition at Aachen where she also placed third individually.

McDonald had an impressive year in 2002. At the World Equestrian Games McDonald and Brentina helped the U.S. dressage squad capture the team Silver Medal, marking the best finish ever for a United States dressage team in any World Championship or Olympic Games. Individually, McDonald had this country's best performance in history by coming in fourth by the slimmest of margins. McDonald had a good start in 2002 winning the U.S. Freestyle Championship and the World Cup Dressage U.S. League Final in California riding Brentina. She followed that up by winning the USET Grand Prix Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions. This was the second straight year that she and Brentina won the USET Grand Prix Championship. At the 1999 Pan American Games, McDonald and Brentina won the individual and team Gold Medals, and gave the USET its first double Gold Medalist since 1983. Earlier in 1999, they also won the State Line Tack/USET Intermediaire I Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions. As a result of her tremendous efforts, McDonald was honored as the AHSA Equestrian of the Year and USOC Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year.

In 1997, McDonald and Beaurivage rode to a team Silver Medal at the North American Dressage Championships. She also won the FEI World Cup qualifier at Dressage Under the Oaks and the Prix St. Georges, Intermediaire I and Grand Prix at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair in California . McDonald represented the U.S. at the 1998 World Cup Final in Gothenburg , Sweden .

A native Californian and former hunter-jumper, McDonald runs Sun Valley 's River Grove Farm. She has worked with Hilda Gurney, Steffen Peters and Lilo Fore and most recently with Klaus Balkenhol.

Horse: Brentina —Chestnut, mare, 16.2 h, 11-year-old, Hanoverian
Owner: Peggy Thomas