Debbie McDonald Riding Through

An Olympic Medalist's Lessons on Life and Dressage

Debbie McDonald

$24.95
Format

Description

Olympic medalist Debbie McDonald and her fabulous partner, Brentina, have thrilled crowds the world over with their stunning performances. In her new book, Riding Through, Debbie describes her system for success in dressage and relates her life story:

"There is more than one reason that I call this book Riding Through. Of course, first and foremost, riding through is a dressage term, something you strive for as you attempt to get your horse on the aids and moving back-to-front. You have achieved it when everything the two of you do together is one fluid motion, the ultimate of coordination and expression, in which the horse is maximizing his assets. It's all about harmony and correctness, summing up the meaning of dressage in a single short phrase. But "riding through" has other meanings for me as well. I've learned to ride through hard times, on and off a horse, when I thought about giving up. We all have to learn about riding through, because that's the only way we will arrive at our destination, whatever it may be."

Even if passage and piaffe aren't your ambition, or you don't want to compete in dressage at any level, the good basic riding skills involved in learning this discipline will help you in whatever you want to do with horses--whether it's improving adjustability for jumping or just having a more pleasurable trail ride. And the challenges will keep you interested while you explore the very special connection that develops between human and horse when you're doing meaningful work together.

Additional Information

Author: Debbie McDonald

Format: Paperback

Page Count: 176

Illustrations: color photos throughout

ISBN: 9781929164356

By Debbie McDonald

Debbie McDonald served as US Equestrian’s Dressage Development Coach before taking on the Technical Advisor role. She has spent over a decade advancing athlete-and-horse combinations through the U.S. dressage pipeline. Her success has proved contagious as a personal coach having guided three of her athletes and their horses to the Olympics, including 2012 London participants Adrienne Lyle and Wizard and Rio 2016 team bronze medalists Laura Graves and Verdades and Kasey Perry-Glass and Gorklintgaards Dublet. As an athlete, McDonald heavily contributed to U.S. Dressage’s early accomplishments due to her impressive achievements with the chestnut Hanoverian mare Brentina. Their string of accolades included a 1999 Pan American Games team and individual gold medal, an Athens 2004 Olympic team bronze medal, a WEG 2002 team silver and 2006 team bronze medal, and was the first American to win a FEI World Cup Dressage Final in 2003.