Special Guests of the PVDA Ride for Life
Debbie McDonald – Former Olympian, United States
Special Guest and Ride for Life Grand Marshall
Debbie McDonald is a former Hunter/Jumper rider who switched to Dressage in 1990. In 1999 Debbie and Brentina took first place in the State Line Tack/USET Intermediare 1 Championships at the Festival of Champions in Gladstone N.J. That earned them a spot on the Pan American Team in Canada. They went on to win the Team and Individual Gold Medals. Debbie was voted the USOC Woman of the Year and AHSA Equestrian of the Year. Brentina was also named the AHSA Horse of the Year. In 2001 ,Debbie and Brentina won the Grand Prix (GP) Championships at the Festival of Championships.
In 2002 they once again won the GP Championships at the selection for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Spain. They went on to win a team Silver medal and finished 4th overall. In 2003 they were given a Wild Card to the World Cup (WC) in Sweden. As it would turn out they won the WC title. They are the first Americans to hold such a title . They also were members of the team that went to Aachen, were they where once again team Silver and Bronze individual medalists. The were also 2003 USOC Athletes of the Year. In 2004, they won the Freestyle Championships. They went to Germany and showed in Dortmund where they won the GP and the GPS. 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 they won the Freestyle Championships. They went on to the WC in Las Vegas where they finished third. In 2006 they were a member of the team that went to the WEG in Aachen, Germany where they helped bring the USA a Bronze Medal.
In 2008, Brentina once again represented the USA on the Olympic Team in Hong Kong. In 2009 & 2010 Debbie was named the USEF Developing Coach of the Year and conducted several clinics across the USA. Her goal is to continue to help develop, find and educate younger combinations for the future of our sport.
This is her third year with Ride for Life. She feels a deep connection with all of us—having lost both her sister and mother to breast cancer.
Courtney King-Dye – Former Olympian, United States
Special Guest
“I am 33 years old. I summer in Connecticut (near New York) and winter in Florida. I’ve been an international rider but suffered a brain injury last year, so now I’m riding therapy horses instead of dressage, it’s still fun! I wish I could ride this year in the Ride for Life but am not able yet but maybe next year! Although no one close has ever had breast cancer, many distant friends have, and I see the suffering it causes. It’s a fight we all have to fight.”
Courtney Dye, is based at Bel Air Farm in Millbrook, New York. In 2000, she was named to the USET Olympic Long List and in 2004 she was named to the USEF High Performance Developing Riders List. Courtney is a United States Dressage Federation (USDF) Gold Medalist and a USDF Certified Instructor through Fourth Level. Renowned dressage announcer Brian O’Connor dubbed her as “the Tiger Woods of dressage” in recognition of her extraordinary number of wins.
In April 2007 Courtney and Idocus represented the USA for the first time at the World Cup in Las Vegas finishing in 6th place competing against 30 of the best riders in the world. Later in August they competed in the USEF National Grand Prix Championships, Gladstone, NJ finishing in second place. In April 2008, Courtney and Idocus qualified and competed in the World Cup in The Netherlands. In August
2008, Courtney represented the USA at the Olympic Games in Hong Kong on Harmony’s Mythilus.
