Dressage-News

GLADSTONE, New Jersey, USA, June 21–Brentina, the mare who retired from competition, and the stallion Kingston have been mated by embryo transfer to produce what Debbie McDonald and Leslie Morse hope will be a baby reflecting the best of America’s dressage development.

Brentina is an 18-year-old chestnut Hanoverian that was bought by Peggy and Parry Thomas of Hailey, Idaho as a three-year-old for Debbie to ride which she did to win two Pan American Games gold medals, World Equestrian Games silver and bronze medals, a World Cup title and Olympic bronze. She retired at a ceremony at the FEI World Cup in Las Vegas in April.

Kingston is a 17-year-old Oldenburg on which Morse has won three U.S. National Championships, 2006 World Equestrian Games team bronze and was alternate for the 2004 Olympics. The stallion was lame on entering the Las Vegas World Cup arena two months ago, but Morse said she is still perplexed about the cause.

Morse, who lives in Beverly Hills, California but was in Gladstone for the U.S. National Championships told dressage-news.com that when Bob McDonald, Debbie’s husband, called to say they wanted to breed Brentina to Kingston “it gave me goise bumps.

“What an amazing baby this could be. It could be like the American wonder child. Just thethought of these two horses that have been developed through the American system through the years to then be fortunate enough to breed them for an all-American baby is going to be so much fun. It’s really exciting.”

Morse said that Kingston and Brentina have been friends–often going on hacks that were more like “dates,” is the way she described it–for several years as they have traveled around the world together.

McDonald said that “it was definitely the intent to have two horses that have represented the country and both have done very well” to produce an all-American baby.

“I think they complement one another very well,” she said. “I have seen several of Kingston’s offspring and I have been very impressed with them.”