Phelps Media Group International welcomes new client Debbie McDonald.  McDonald is legendary in the dressage world and was named the “First Lady of American Dressage” after the 2004 Olympic Games.  

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, she and the Hanovarian chestnut mare, Brentina, owned by Peggy and Parry Thomas, won the Team Bronze and were individually fourth overall.

McDonald also won Individual and Team Gold medals at the 1999 Pan American Games held in Winnipeg, Canada.  She become the first American rider to win the Dressage World Cup in 2003, and placed third at the 2005 World Cup.  She was named the 1999 Equestrian of the Year by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and named the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year.  

As members of the United States Equestrian Team, she and Brentina won a Team Silver and individual fourth at the 2002 World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Jerez, Spain, and a Team Bronze at the 2006 World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany.

“Debbie and I go way back,” said Mason Phelps, president of Phelps Media Group International.  “She is the epitome of excellence in the world of dressage and I am thrilled to represent her.  She has not only proven her expertise as a rider, but her skills as a teacher and coach are unparalleled, as evidenced by the success of her protégé, Olympian Adrienne Lyle.”

McDonald takes a keen interest in coaching young dressage riders and young horses and her success does not go unnoticed.  In 2010, she was named the United States Equestrian Federation’s Developing Dressage Coach, a role designed to identify and cultivate future U.S. dressage stars.   

She lives in Hailey, Idaho, with her husband Bob, a hunter/jumper and trainer.  She trains and teaches riders on the Thomas’ River Grove Farm in Sun Valley, Idaho, and at Linda and Michael Fowler’s Epona Farm in Thousand Oaks, California. 

Be sure and “like” Debbie McDonald on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Debbie-McDonald/105702526130441?ref=ts&fref=ts.