US Federation Not to Renew Debbie McDonald’s USA Dressage Team Coaching Contract
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Dec. 1, 2021
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
The U.S. federation announced Wednesday that Debbie McDonald’s American dressage team coaching contract will not be renewed, a decision disclosed six days after a civil lawsuit filed against Debbie and her husband, Bob, over alleged sexual abuse in the mid-1970s.
“Debbie McDonald’s contract with USEF has expired and will not be renewed at this time,” the federation said in a two-sentence statement to dressage-news.com. “We are continuing to move forward with the balance of the plans that have been developed following a detailed review involving stakeholder feedback.”
Debbie became a household name in equestrian circles for her success on the mare Brentina that she rode in two Olympics and the first American to win the World Cup. She has been perhaps the most successful dressage coach, with three of the four riders on the American silver medal team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games and then as the official Technical Advisor as the coach is called of the historic silver medal team at the Tokyo Olympics.
She was negotiating a new contract when the allegations surfaced in the lawsuit filed on behalf of two unidentified women in California.
Debbie had said after the Olympics that she wanted to spend more time with her family in Idaho and not to be away in Europe for extended periods as was expected in 2022 with a European tour by American riders and horses ahead of the world championships in Herning, Denmark Aug. 6-14.
She can continue to coach her private customers, which have included Adrienne Lyle, Laura Graves and Kasey Perry-Glass.
With most riders preferring to work with their personal coaches, a change in the requirements of the job filled by Debbie, Anne Gribbons and Robert Dover before her was already under review.
