Torrance Watkins

Torrance Watkins is an American event rider who has successfully competed internationally.

Early years

Her family was full of horsemen, many of them foxhunters, and she began riding to the hounds at the age of four. She then lived in Peru during her teenage years, and graduated from the University of Denver.

International Accomplishments

Watkins made her international debut in the 1970s, and her career spanned into the 1990s. Her two most famous horses include the pinto mare Poltroon, and the ex-racehorse Finvarra. Her accomplishments include:

1978

* World Championships team silver

1979

* USCTA Leading Lady1980
* USCTA Rider of the Year
* USCTA Leading Lady
* Fontainebleau Olympic Games, individual bronze, making her the first woman to win a medal in the sport
* Winner of the Modified Advanced division at the Rolex Kentucky Three Day

1982

* World Championships team bronze

1983

* USCTA Leading Lady

1984

* USCTA Leading Lady
* Los Angeles Olympic Games, team gold, fourth place individually, only US rider to have a double-clear cross-country and stadium round

1985

* USCTA Leading Lady

1986

* Part of the USET World Championships team

2003

* First woman to be inducted into the US Eventing Hall of Fame

Other notable Accomplishments

Watkins finished second at the Burghley Horse Trials and fourth at the Badminton Horse Trials. She is a licensed course designer, having designed such courses as the CDCTA 3-Day and Intermediate Horse Trials, and the GMHA Preliminary and Intermediate Horse Trial courses. She also organized the Over the Walls Horse Trials for five years at Great Meadowbrook Farm, which was a CIC*** World Cup qualifier in 2004 and was used as a selection trial for Canadian and U.S. Equestrian Teams for the Olympic and World Equestrian Games.

ources

* [http://useventing.com/hof/index.php?id=10 US Eventing Hall of Fame Inductees]