Donor Pamela Jones
Debbie McDonald, Adrienne Lyle, and Pam Jones
Providing Opportunities to Others
By Pamela Jones
As a kid, I always loved horses, but did not start riding until I became an adult, looking for stress relief from a busy life and career. I returned to my original love of horses when my husband gifted me five riding lessons for my birthday and I fell in love with the sport of dressage. I don’t think either of us knew then how much those five lessons would change our lives!
Providing opportunities and access to others has always been a core value for our family, as has our passion for animal welfare. I realized that we could contribute to both of these purposes in the horse world by exposing as many people as possible to classical training methods which put the horse’s welfare and well-being first. As a dressage rider interested in reading about all things dressage, I learned about The Dressage Foundation (TDF), and it quickly became evident that TDF was doing just that.
My professional background is in finance and accounting so I tend to evaluate contributions to charitable organizations in much of the same way I would evaluate investment opportunities in my work:
- Does the organization have a clear mission and vision?
- Does the organization have a track record of successfully implementing their plans and achieving their goals?
- Are the leadership and staff talented and committed to the organization and its ambitions?
- Are they fiscally responsible, cost conscious, and diligent in the use of resources to produce optimal results?
In my due diligence of TDF, as I interfaced with leadership and staff, reviewed literature and financial information, and witnessed all the great work they do, the answer to all of the above questions was a resounding YES!
Debbie McDonald is one of the most generous people I know, going out of her way to help others and provide them with life-changing opportunities. So my ultimate reason for supporting TDF’s Debbie McDonald Fund for FEI Riders is to provide opportunities for riders to train in methods consistent with those applied by Debbie; methods based upon the fundamental premise that our horses are kind and willing partners, worthy of our compassion, patience, respect, and careful development.
By providing opportunities to our dressage community through the Debbie McDonald Fund or other TDF programs, and by contributing to TDF in general, we can further expand the reach of TDF and overall exposure and access to correct, compassionate, systematic training methods, creating a trickle-down and multiplier effect to reach as many of us as possible. The ultimate goal being enjoyment, growth, and success for all riders at all levels, and the resulting benefit to our beloved horses.
