Gladstone, New Jersey—June 17, 2001—Debbie McDonald of Hailey, ID rode Brentina to victory in the U.S. Equestrian Team (USET) Dressage Grand Prix Championship at the Bayer/USET Festival of Champions Presented by State Line Tack.

McDonald, 46, swept all three phases of the competition at the USET Olympic Training Center and finished with an overall score of 72.578% on the 10-year-old Hanoverian mare on whom she won team and individual Gold Medals at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

Placing second and finishing as Reserve Champion was two-time Olympic team Bronze Medalist Guenter Seidel of Del Mar, CA. Seidel, 40, had an overall score of 70.067% on Nikolaus 7. Third place went to Seidel’s 1996 Olympic teammate, Steffen Peters, 36, of Escondido, CA who scored 67.353% on Grandeur.

“I’m really very fortunate to be able to ride this horse,” McDonald said. “It’s an honor and it’s hard for me to believe I’m even here in the same company as such great riders as Guenter and Steffen. I have to pinch myself to be sure I’m really here.”

Place Horse
Rider
Total

1. Brentina
   McDonald, Debbie
   72.578

2. Nikolaus 7
   Seidel, Guenter
   70.067

3. Grandeur
   Peters, Steffen
   67.353

4. G Tudor
   Reiber, Cherri
   65.448

5. Rocher
   Williams, George
   64.133

6. Melville
   Goodrich, Pamela
   63.114

7. Gum Shoes DC
   Dutta, Susan
   62.923

8. Gustaaf
   Armstrong, James
   62.506

9. Dutch Indy
   Polozker, Nancy
   61.908

10. Xandarius Fernando
    Dutta, Susan
    61.185

11. Sudan
    Van't Reit, Sherry
    60.732