Wednesday June 23, 2004

Debbie McDonald Training Package Auction Raises $240,000 For Dressage Team

In a history-making fundraising effort for the United States dressage team, the Debbie McDonald Training Package Auction raised $240,000 in live action at Celebrate With The Champions, the benefit dinner held on Saturday, June 19, in San Juan Capistrano , California . Three bidders tied up the action at $80,000 and were each rewarded with the ‘winning bid' for “The Package” – McDonald agreed to match her initial offer for all of them. The high bidders are all dressage riders from California : Linda Edwards of Rancho Sante Fe, Elma Garcia of Marin County, and Melanie Cornwell of Escondido. Each of the winning bidders receives one month's training with Debbie McDonald at River Grove Farm in Sun Valley , Idaho , complete with board for her horse and accommodations in a condominium.

”Oh, my god, I had no idea it would go like this,” said McDonald, noting she had originally thought the package might garner $15,000. “The fact that we could triple it and add even more money to the pot was unbelievable. Thanks to the Thomases, that was a possibility. I will work really hard to make them feel like they got their money's worth. I still can't believe it.”  Peggy and Parry Thomas are McDonald's sponsors of more than 30 years and own River Grove Farm, the condominium, and McDonald's mount Brentina. With her busy schedule, McDonald still has no doubt that she can handle three packages – each of the riders will receive five lessons per week for a month.  “We'll work it out,” she said. McDonald acknowledged that this type of fundraiser could be done again. “Absolutely. I'll be back to raise money for the team any time. They've been great to me.”

With 450 in attendance and four bidders participating by telephone, the bidding started at $10,000 and quickly escalated to $72,000. With the three determined bidders locked at that price, five-time Olympian Robert Dover who was participating as a spotter along with two-time Olympian Guenter Seidel, announced that he would match Debbie's package for the ‘loser' – which brought a whole new element to the auction. The bidding war rapidly jumped up to $80,000 when it was decided that there would be no losers here tonight! McDonald and her sponsors, Peggy and Parry Thomas and their daughter Jane Thomas, agreed to make it three separate packages, awarding one to each of the high bidders. Asked about Dover 's spark to the three-way win idea, McDonald said, “I thought it was fabulous.”