This petite, ageless blonde with a disarming smile and sparkling blue eyes has cleverly managed to blend her rare talent for horse training with a professional singing career.

Donéll, a Los Gatos native, defies all stereotypes. As the founder of Kismet Productions, Donéll bills herself as the "Soprano on a Dancing Horse," and takes her horses, costumes and talent on the road to appear at horse shows, fairs, festivals, indoor and outdoor sporting and theatrical events and gala fundraisers. When she's not in the saddle, Donéll can be found performing opera, Broadway and cabaret music at popular wineries, country clubs, restaurants and private gatherings with a versatile Bay Area ensemble known as the Uptown Singers! So accomplished is she in her equestrian and musical pursuits that Donéll enjoys a steady diet of standing ovations.

Donéll took up horseback riding at the age of 9 and discovered early where her passion lay.

"I was born with a love of horses," said Donéll. "I helped neighbors groom and care for their horses, and rode every single horse that was offered, regardless of its looks or temperament."

Largely self-taught, Donéll was teaching other riders and training horses by the time she was 15. She quickly familiarized herself with various riding disciplines from Western and English to driving and sidesaddle. She earned many trips to national competitions, and she soon discovered a love of performing.

"At an Arabian horse show, I once came out and sang the national anthem while riding my horse around the arena and having him bow at the end," Donéll said. "The audience liked it so much, I began to sing and ride at more shows, choreographing horse movements to music, and incorporating costumes to match event themes."

By the age of 18, Donéll was well on her way to becoming a successful equestrienne entrepreneur.

"I bought my first young horse when he was just 9 months old, which provided tremendous experience in training correct behavior from the ground up," Donéll said. "My next horse was considered by her previous owner to be a real problem horse that couldn't be ridden safely. She and I not only learned to get along but we fixed her problems and she became a national champion in English Pleasure and Half-Arabian Costume."

According to Donéll's husband, Chuck McPherson, "I can remember when two cowboys drove up one day, opened their horse trailer and brought out a horse that had been giving them trouble. It was amazing to see these two brawny guys ask Dorothy for help with their horse, and she did. She takes pride in making horses not only fun but safe to be around."

McPherson, a former Navy fighter pilot, met Dorothy when he was just out of dental school and building his dental practice. Clearly, the two were destined to be a couple.

"Dorothy was sharing a bottle of Coca-Cola with her horse," McPherson said. "A little nudge from the horse when Dorothy was taking a sip caused her to chip her tooth, and she was scheduled to sing opera that same evening. She wound up in my dentist's chair--I fixed her tooth and asked her to marry me right then and there. At first she said 'no,' but luckily she changed her mind when I asked her again 10 days later."

Donéll and McPherson have two grown children, and in McPherson's words, "Dorothy showed me that raising boys isn't all that different from raising horses. The lessons are often similar."

Donéll trains horses at her 8-acre Kismet Ranch in Scotts Valley. Some of her clients bring her "green" horses, but most have had some training, and many have problems.

"It's an interesting challenge to undo years of improper handling," Donéll said. "Horses are big, powerful animals. They have short attention spans, but long memories. Bad training just leaves them confused. The key is to gain their trust, and then teach them to understand their job."

As Donéll's business grew, her clients began asking for help with their riding. Jill Haueter, a veteran Dressage riding instructor, brought one of her horses to Donéll for training, and the two women soon realized they shared not only similar philosophies, but also complementary skills. For the past three years, Haueter has boarded her horses at Kismet, and she and Donéll work together on training trick horses.

According to Haueter, "Many of my clients are adult amateur riders who tend to buy more horse than their skill and experience dictates. I send a lot of horses to Dorothy, and I'd get on any horse that she's trained. She never sends them away until it's safe to do so. Unlike other trainers, Dorothy doesn't consider a horse 'finished' when her work is done; she says the horse is 'nicely started,' and that says a lot about her philosophy."

Laura Newell brought her 1-year-old Haflinger filly to Donéll last year. Newell was having increasing difficulty with her horse's intelligent but mischievous nature and challenging behavior.

"I'd been treating my horse Sierra like a pet," Newell said. "Dorothy transformed her from a spoiled pet into a horse who knows how to behave in many situations. Now Sierra has good ground manners and respects my space, she responds to my voice commands and she goes confidently and safely on trails or at the beach. Dorothy not only came to my place with Sierra to make sure she would behave once back at home, but she also rode Sierra for me at the horse's first horse show."

At Los Gatos-based Camel Hill Vineyards, Donéll helps vineyard owner Jon Anderson train his stable of prize-winning Friesian and Fjord horses, and even his stock of imported camels.

Several years ago, Anderson, a commercial and residential landscape contractor by trade, took the advice of his friend and longtime horse trainer Bob Thompson and hired Donéll.

"Bob and I needed someone to train the show-quality Friesians we were breeding," Anderson said. "We had tried several other trainers, without success. Dorothy had the right combination of skills and traits. She's not a cowboy, and not a horse whisperer, but somewhere in between. She's very much attuned to the nature of horses, and she works methodically, always spending whatever time a horse needs in order to learn. That's why she gets better, more lasting results from the horses she trains."

Donéll teaches her performing horses difficult moves like the passage, piaffe and pirouette, common to Dressage riding. She then choreographs the moves with music, and her singing. Donéll is a classically trained lyric opera singer whose dramatic coloratura soprano never fails to move her audiences.

Even diehard San Francisco 49ers and Giants fans have been known to get misty-eyed during opening ceremonies when Donéll enters the stadium on a statuesque, midnight-black Friesian doing a fancy dance or Spanish walk, and then sings the national anthem.

In person, Donéll has an almost shy and quiet demeanor, but her fans say she exudes tremendous confidence and energy when she performs, a passion she has cultivated since her days as a student at Los Gatos High School.

"Even back in high school, Dorothy was widely recognized for her musical and stage talent. She was in everything," said Anderson, a fellow Los Gatos High alum. "Dorothy is modest, but she's quite an accomplished singer, having been recently ranked among the top five finalists in a national opera competition at Carnegie Hall."

Donéll's singing also took her to Europe in the late '90s. Fluent in German, she went to Graz, Austria, to audition for and gain acceptance into the American Institute of Musical Studies.

Anderson was so impressed with Donéll and the Uptown Singers! that he asked the ensemble to perform during a large holiday gathering at his home last year. According to Anderson, their performance was the highlight of the evening. Anderson joins a growing number of people discovering the entertainment appeal of musical dinner theater.

Uptown Singers! founder/producer and singer Kathy Holly describes Donéll as "talented, versatile and at the same time very thoughtful and giving--a rare combination in the entertainment business." The ensemble performs arias, Broadway show tunes, international popular classics and even tangos to rave reviews at Bay Area restaurants, gala fundraisers, corporate events and private parties. Donéll and five other ensemble members maintain their own rigorous practice schedules, but they rehearse together twice monthly and perform year-round.

Holly recalled an afternoon when members of the Uptown Singers! were relaxing in downtown Napa when they made an impromptu stop at the Allegria Restaurant. The owner was on hand, and the ensemble liked the restaurant's ambience and acoustics, so they spontaneously broke into song, performing "La Traviata" on the spot. The owner was so pleased that he immediately booked them for an upcoming appearance.

"We're all busy," said Holly of the Uptown Singers!, who are all professional musicians with multiple career interests, "but when we come together, Dorothy is always so in the moment and happy to be performing, and the audience loves that." The ensemble's repeat performances attest to its growing popularity, with venues ranging from the Silverado Country Club and the Pleasanton Hotel to Original Joe's in San Francisco. Far from background music, the ensemble's performances are interactive, more like mystery dinner theater, and really engage the audience.

Away from the glitz and glamour, Donéll nurtures her spiritual life, and dedicates some of her singing time as part of the choir at the High Street Community Church in Santa Cruz, where she is a member of the congregation.

"Dorothy is both a country girl and a city girl," Holly said. "It amazes people how she transforms so easily from an equestrian in jeans and boots into a glamorous entertainer in an evening gown singing opera. But everything she does, she does from her soul."

For more information about Donéll's Kismet Productions and "Soprano on a Dancing Horse," visit www.opening-ceremonies.com or call 831.438.1481. To learn more about Uptown Singers! and its upcoming performances, visit www.kathyholly.com.