Dressage champion Brentina recovering from colic surgery

Brentina, an equine living legend in the sport of dressage, is currently recovering from colic surgery she underwent on Tuesday, February 10. The Hanoverian mare was treated for an impaction.

18-year-old Brentina’s longtime trainer and rider, Debbie McDonald, reported on Wednesday that Brentina is doing well, but is “not out of the woods yet.”

Together McDonald and Brentina have one of the most successful careers of any American dressage team. They helped the US team win silver at the 2002 World Equestrian Games and team bronze in 2006. They competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, their second Olympic experience after they brought home a team bronze from Athens in 2004. In 2005, the USEF named Brentina Horse of the Year.

McDonald had been planning Brentina’s retirement since before the 2008 Olympics. She has been retired from competition but was scheduled for a curtain call performance at the FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas this April. 

VIDEO: Watch Debbie McDonald and Brentina at the 2008 Olympic selection trials.