It’s not often that a woman gets a career that spans a lifetime, but Donna Preskitt has been just that fortunate.When you first meet the direct, blue-eyed gaze of this small, blonde woman, you almost feel a jolt of electrical current.She’s hard-driving, hard-working and very focused – and, she doesn’t “suffer fools gladly.”She is known for her keen observation and straight talk, sharing her observations and plans with clients freely.Clients often find themselves energized, as she enthusiastically explains customized programs for their horses.
Born into a family of talented Austrian/Hungarian/Germanic horsemen and horsewomen, who immigrated to America and settled in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia, and Logan County, Illinois, Donna’s early childhood was spent following closely at the heels of these family members. She absorbed five generations of equine knowledge and skill.Among those family members, Donna remembers those relatives who had a strong influence in her career: (Aunt) Martha Brelsford Ivey (Belgian cart horses, pacers and trotter); (Uncle) Dick Leesman (Belgian draft and competition and show sled-pulling horses); (Cousin) Ida Trusch (Warmbloods, Cart Horses, Standardbreds, Sulky Racing, etc. She qualified for her Sulky racing license, but was turned down because she was female.); (Maternal Grandfather) Uncle Horce Trusch (Fox Trotters, Mules, he also hunted and trained for the public); (Great-Great Grandfather) Richard G. Trusch (Percherons, Morgan, trained foxhunters); (Great Uncle) Linwood Trusch; (Aunt) Tess Biliter (Hackney Ponys, Saddlebreds – showed competitively);(Cousin) Frances Biliter (Hackney Ponys, Saddlebreds – showed competitively); (Great-Great Uncle) Brooks Wilkes, (1800’s veterinarian); (Grandfather) Hurbert Witt (Thoroughbred Pacers Trotters, Warmbloods); (Great, Great, Great Grandfather) Constantine Grinell, arrived from Spain with Pureblood Spanish horses or Andalusians; (Father) Don Witt (Thoroughbreds Quarter Horses, Saddlebreds).Mr. Witt also trained Quarter Horses and Saddlebreds used in timed trials for competitive bird hunting. It was under the guidance and knowledge of her father, the late Don Witt, a Military Hall-of-Fame Biochemist, that Donna developed her training in test and evaluation.His tutelage and direction in the understanding of processes, cause and effect, and data evaluation, enabled Donna to develop a unique program centered around the underwater treadmill, nutrition and establish her “whole horse” program.With his training in chemistry, Mr. Witt was in a unique position to understand that, for optimum performance, the nutritional input of a horse had to be more than the caloric output.Daily, Mr. Witt stressed “the quality of grain.”Early on, the Witts took pictures of their horses, weighed, measured and compared. (To weigh their horses, they would use the local truck stop weight scales.) They fed Purina feeds even back then.Mr. Witt knew that Purina Mill had a strict format of how their grain products were made and it was the “best money could buy.”In order to afford Purina Feed, Mr. Witt opened Witts Western Tack and Feed, where by selling Purina feeds, he could afford it for their own horses. Combining exceptional horse skills, an extraordinary talent for observation, and 30 + years of experience working with the physical and mental attributes of horses, Donna has developed the ability to discern and understand the detailed movement of horses, and communicate this information to the professionals with which she surrounds herself.Combining this team approach with the use of the underwater treadmill, Donna provides workable and realistic solutions for horses and their owners.This is her “whole horse program” She is an educator, clinician, strength-training specialist and entrepreneur specializing in the use of a state-of-the-art Underwater Treadmill that she designed, which is a permanent, in-ground structure built to Donna’s exact, proven specifications. Horses are exercised on the Underwater Treadmill (no swimming involved!).It incorporates 20 whirlpool jets in an indoor, climate-controlled environment for year-round operation.The pool is 54 feet long with a 12 foot stainless steel treadmill.The flooring is a steady, cushioned surface with all wall and rail corners rounded for the safety of the horses.Handlers and horses are protected by rounded, smooth steel railing that allows full access to horses at all times.The operational machinery is located in an underground, sound-proof storage unit. In conjunction with The SpookLess Sound Conditioning Program (www.spookless.com), which conditions horses to a variety of unusual and distracting sounds, Donna, evaluates equine behavior, employs time-tested techniques for modifying the behavior not only of the troubled horse and the young horse, but as a routine part of the “whole horse” concept. Daily “free-play” is an essential belief of the 5W Ranch.Not only does it provide psychological health for stalled horses, the natural movement of the horse at play – jumping, bucking, rearing, kicking, etc. – aligns and properly maintains the skeletal structure of the horse. A crucial and strongly-emphasized component of the 5W Ranch’s “whole-horse” program is nutrition.Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and water are the four components essential to nutrition.In performance, the ratio of these four substances in the diet is imperative for success.The stresses of exercise break down the equine body.Rest and nutrition help restore their bodies to optimal condition and strength.An improper diet can make an equine athlete prone to injury; it can delay or cause an inadequate repair process, lack of energy, muscle fatigue, low energy, lack of muscle growth and strength development. The type of diet prescribed for the equine athlete will depend on the discipline in which they will participate or, in the case of rehabilitation, the degree to which they are injured. Upon arrival at the 5W Ranch, each horse is carefully analyzed to determineits current fitness level, the type of discipline for which it is to be fitted and strengthened, the genetic bloodlines, talent potential, medical history, past or present injuries, and, if applicable, performance history.Donna is fond of saying, “Although we can’t change the genetic make-up, we can certainly improve the horse and make sure they achieve their full potential.” An individualized program is then developed for each horse (right down to measurement charts!), whether healing an injury or achieving peak performance in its chosen discipline.She practices, and demands of her staff, a strict “hands-on” approach to all horses in her care. As the program proceeds, re-analysis is a daily factor. §1978 worked summers, weekends and holidays at the renowned Coosa Valley Equine of AQHA National Director Edward Murray.Experiences at this facility developed a desire to understand the total physiology of the horse; one that she continues to pursue today. §1975 to approximately 1980, Ft. McClellan Rod, Gun and Saddle Club, where all breed/all discipline horses were kept by both military and civilian personnel.Donna cleaned stalls, prepared horses for riding and exercised them.At this facility she took lessons under the guidance of Colonel Ryan and Ms. Debbie Branson. §Assisted Mr. Witt in his management of the game and hunting preserve for Ft. McClellan and Pelham Range in Anniston, Alabama. §1979, competed and won the PRCA Miss Rodeo Alabama.During the year, she represented Alabama at many western and equine events, stores, etc.She went on to represent Alabama in the Miss Rodeo America in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, later that year.She competed in barrel racing, roping and goat-tying. §1982 – 1983, worked at Castle’s Farms in Lexington, Kentucky, where thoroughbred horses were bred, trained and raced.Starting out as stall help, Donna soon moved into assisting with the exercise of the horses, a part of which was the use of a standard treadmill; her first exposure to this “unconventional” method of exercise and training. §1985 – 2001, managed, with its myriad paperwork and governmental regulations, a children’s day care for lower-income children.The strict guidelines and structure required in such a business served to strengthen and enhance Donna’s skills for record keeping and management.Donna closed this business in 1999 to concentrate exclusively on the 5W Ranch and build the Underwater treadmill. (Donna went on to purchase 40 acres of the 5W Ranch when it was sold in 1992, where the present day 5W Ranch/Underwater Treadmill is located.) §1986 to Present, Mr. Witt and Donna, working with Alabama Senator Hinton Mitchem, conceived, founded and funded the Alabama Open Horseman Association State Championship Horse Show (a nonprofit organization in which all directors are volunteers), which became the official state championship horse show in May of 1988 (Acts of Alabama, Act 88-656, May 13, 1988).Mr. Witt served 1988 to 1991 as Chairman and Donna served the 1988 to 1990 as Secretary.Donna has served as a Board of Director since 1991 and continues in that role.The first Championship Horse Show was held at the W.O. Crawford Arena in Montgomery, Alabama in September 1988 with 994 entries over a two-day period. The goal of the Alabama Open Horseman Association (“AOHA”) is the promotion and sponsorship of the Alabama State Champion Horse Show, and development and support of youth who show and compete in AOHA.The State Championship Show continues to be one of the largest horse shows east of the Mississippi River.An estimated 72 AOHA-affiliated saddle clubs are in Alabama and are responsible for at least 246 open shows a year, in addition to any fund or benefit shows held.In 2004 there were 2,459 entries for the three-day AOHA Championship Show.[1] §1988 to Present, serves in volunteer positions as an officer of various saddle clubs and equine organizations, helping to develop and expand their programs.This is an effort about which Donna is enthusiastic, and is her opportunity to “pay forward” all the benefits such organizations have given to her over the years. §1987 to 1992, managed and operated a 365-acre facility known since the 1940s as the 5W-Ranch, owned by James Parker.She maintained the land through conservation and fertilization programs; grew quality forage for use by the 5W and public sale; managed several rental properties owned by the 5W Ranch; operated a 40-stall barn and three 20-stall barns; and ran 100 head of Santa Gertrudis cattle.Located on the facility was a one-mile oval track.On the weekends, she and Mr. Witt organized “Bush” training races at the track.During this time the Birmingham Race Course was operational and a portion of the barn was leased for the training and exercising of race horses. One of the services Donna provided was the oversight of the exercise and nutritional race program of several Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred clients. One of those clients was Bill Miller, Jr., who owned and raced Thoroughbred horses.Because of the proximity to his home and photography business, Mr. Miller used the 5W facility as his home base and stabled the majority of his race horses at the 5W Ranch to take advantage of the track.As it turned out, Mr. Miller’s string of race horses provided the perfect material for Donna’s budding interest and research into the use of an underwater treadmill.As his horses came through the 5W facility with various injuries, ailments, simple fatigue from racing, and training, Mr. Miller allowed her the freedom to “experiment.”
