Torrance Watkins is an American equestrian and Olympic champion.
Background
Watkins is the daughter of August and Torrance Watkins (Senior). She has three brothers: Richardson, Thornton, and August Junior. Her family was full of horsemen, many of them foxhunters, and she began riding to the hounds at the age of four.
Education
She then lived in Peru during her teenage years, and graduated from the University of Denver.
Career
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. 1978
World Championships team silver
1979
USCTA Leading Lady
1980
USCTA Rider of the Year
USCTA Leading Lady
1982
World Championships team bronze
1983
USCTA Leading Lady
1984
USCTA Leading Lady
Los Angeles Olympic Games, team gold, fourth place individually, only United States rider to have a double-clear cross-country and stadium round
1985
USCTA Leading Lady
1986
Participant of the USET World Championships team
2003
First woman to be inducted into the United States Eventing Hall of Fame
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 Counter Intelligence Corps*** World Cup qualifier in 2004 and was used as a selection trial for Canadian and United States. Equestrian Teams for the Olympic and World Equestrian Games.