Havre doctor in Holland with U.S equestrian eventing team

A Havre doctor is in Holland this weekend in a new activity - being the team physician for the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Eventing Team.

Dr. Michelle Donaldson, an orthopedic surgeon at Northern Montana Hospital Specialty Medical Center, has served as the team doctor for the U.S. Olympic Snowboarding Team for 19 years, and this year started serving as the eventing team's physician.

The FEI Eventing Nation's Cup started Thursday in Enschede, Netherlands. It is the last major international competition for the U.S. team before the 2020 Olympics in Japan, a release from Northern Montana Hospital said.

This is the first trip for Donaldson, an equestrian herself, with the team.

The release said her expertise in orthopedics and treating competitive athletes is invaluable in the position.

"We mainly see minor injuries," Donaldson said in the release. "Clavicle fractures and concussions are the two main serious injuries we may see. My main role is to be on hand should something happen."

The release said Donaldson's experience at regional and national equestrian competitions led her to working with the equestrian events team.

The release said she and her husband own six horses. She said they started out trail riding, she moved on to the jumper ring, and then decided to try her hand at eventing. She said she quickly fell in love with the sport and is competing nationally with her 12-year-old warm blood, Harley.

They recently placed sixth in the Pacific Northwest at the Regional Championships and have qualified for the American Eventing Championships to be held in September 2020 in Kentucky. Because the team consists of the same horse and rider, the connection between them is vitally important, she said.

Eventing, also known as horse trials, the release said, is an equestrian sport where a horse and rider compete against other horse-rider combinations across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country jumping and show jumping.

The event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test that required mastery of several types of riding.

Dressage is an exact set of movements ridden in an enclosed arena and is judged in balance, rhythm, suppleness and, most importantly, cooperation between the horse and its rider. The challenge is to demonstrate that a supremely fit horse also has the training to perform in a graceful, relaxed and precise manner.

Cross-country is the next phase and requires both the horse and rider to be in prime physical condition and to have an excellent working relationship. The course consists of 12-40 obstacles comprising fences, ponds, streams, ditches, drops and banks - in various combinations. The scores are based on time and ability to cover obstacles, requiring the ability of the rider to implore the horse to obey the commands. While the rider is walked through the course prior to the event, the horse is running it for the first time.

The last phase of the eventing competition is the show jumping. It is run on a timed course with 12-20 jumps set up in a ring. In addition to normal jumping skills, the show jumping phase tests the fitness and stamina of the horse and rider, generally being held after the cross-country phase.