46 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
a.m. and I am in the gym by 7 a.m. at least six
days a week. Because I breathe primarily with
accessory muscles and not my diaphragm, I am
constantly trying to improve my cardiovascular
fitness. After my gym workout, I head off to my
job as a program coordinator for an independent
living center. Once done with work, I head off to
the stables to train with my horse.
How did you learn to ride without your
ventilator?
It was around 2005 that I decided that I wasn’t
going to live forever and wanted to return to riding.
Because I don’t have use of my core muscles,
and with the lightest of ventilators weighing about
20 pounds, I couldn’t maintain my balance out of
the wheelchair without support. So if I wanted to
ride, I’d have to learn to breathe without it. About
a year into my training to breathe off the vent, I
was speaking to a friend who was getting into
free diving – deep sea diving with a snorkel and
mask. He was telling me that the best free divers
in the world train themselves to function in oxygen-
depleted environments. That’s when I began
incorporating anaerobic exercise into my training
routine. By 2007, I was breathing well enough to
be off the vent for about 20 minutes and that’s
when I began riding.
What are your goals?
To remain healthy, fit and strong enough to be considered a “high performance
para-equestrian.” While it was a lifestyle commitment to get to the 2012 games,
it was my proudest accomplishment to date. It would be the ultimate honor and
privilege to again represent the USA at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in
Normandy and I like to think that I’ll be healthy enough and have an ideal mount
to eye the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil.
We heard you have a very entertaining horse show story. Will you share it
with our Sidelines readers?
At the Para-Equestrian Nationals, because I didn’t have a groom, I’d get to the
barn about 6 a.m. to feed my horses and start their morning routine. Arriving shortly
after me was a person I swore could be Olympic dressage rider Debbie McDonald’s
twin. She’d start grooming and caring for a few horses each morning while I was
caring for mine. I didn’t think it could be Debbie because in my mind I didn’t think
anyone of her caliber and accomplishment would ever be doing basic horse care.
A few days later she was trying to hang privacy drapes and I mentioned that I
thought zip ties would work. She agreed, said she didn’t have any and asked if I
did. Because it was hard for me to get over the lip into the tack stall, I told her where
they were and asked if she’d mind getting them herself. She said “no problem”
and proceeded to go into the tack stall, got them and hung the drape. Afterward,
another of the riders asked me how it felt to have Debbie McDonald right next to us
and I told her I hadn’t seen Debbie yet but there was a person working next door
who could be her twin. She laughed and said it was Debbie. When the “Debbie
McDonald twin” came into the barn, my friend called out, “Debbie?” and the person
answered. I was mortified that I didn’t recognize it was Debbie and we went over to
her to tell her the story. She laughed so hard that she said she was going to burst.
Later that day, she came over with a beautiful signed photo of Brentina that said,
“To Donna – Best of luck from the groom next door – Love, Debbie McDonald.”
About the writer: Lindsay McCall is a lifelong hunter/jumper rider originally from Ohio. She is a talented
photographer and makes it her career to advocate for the equestrian sport through photojournalism.
Lindsay works with multiple equestrian organizations and is the Public Relations Manager for the United
States Para-Equestrian Association. Lindsay and her family own many horses in multiple disciplines and
she enjoys spending her free time with her husband, horses and Labrador Retrievers.
Donna and her London Paralympic coach Wes
Dunham in 2012. Donna was the top Grade Ia
rider in 2012 for the USA.
Donna and her current horse PG Ganda, a 19-year-old Danish Warmblood on
loan to her from Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center in Florida.
All photos by Lindsay McCall
