It's not often that people are lucky enough to learn from an Olympic Gold Medalist, but such was the fortune of northwest equestrians who attended the Greater Northwest Equine Expo. Torrance Watkins gave three presentations at the Albany, Oregon, event, and then was kind enough to sit down afterward and talk a little about her fife and career to date.

Born into a hunting family in Virginia, Torrance began foxhunting as a four-year-old and her passion for horses never wavered. She went to Peru for part of her high school career and Denver for college, but, as she puts it "wherever I went, I found horses." Riding with the likes of J. Michael Plumb, Jack LeGeoff and Hector Carmona, Torrance started competing internationally in the late `70s, and represented the United States in the 1980 Alternate Olympics in Fontainebleau, France.

Riding her 15.1 hand Paint mare, Poltroon, Torrance became the first woman to win an Olympic medal in combined training when the Americans took home the bronze medal. At the 1984 Games in Los Angeles, she rode her ex-race horse Fin Varra on the gold medal-winning 3-Day team and was the only member to have clear rounds in both stadium lumping and cross country. In her career, Torrance has represented the United States in three World Championships, won two national championships, and competed at the international level in Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, New Zealand and Australia.

Torrance gave three presentations at the Equine Expo, focusing on each aspect of combined training. Though she is the first to admit that a talented, courageous horse is a prerequisite for competing at the highest levels, her clinic presentations emphasized the basics for both horse and rider. Excellent stable management, conditioning, and a solid flat work foundation, all are necessary if a horse is to stay sound and safe under the rigors of combined training,

For the rider, a correct active position is essential. "Always more leg than hand," she stresses, and even the halt must be active. She puts a strong emphasis on such tools as half-halts and shoulder-ins. These are not just for occasional use, but should be a continual part of the rider's training routine. Unlike some clinicians, Torrance took the time to check her students' understanding: What exactly is a half-halt? What is its purpose? How and when are the aids applied? The half-halt is not a backward movement, she underscores, but an energy-creating device. Riders should always think "half-halt, forward.

Balance, impulsion and flexibility are the goals, but so is safety. "I want to know I have half-halts before I go cross country," she chuckles.

Over jumps, she still emphasized the basics: Straightness, impulsion, quiet hands, and having a plan for the ride. "Where was your eye?" she asked one student who had just landed over a jump, and many in the audience gave a sympathetic nod. If people have ridden long, they've probably heard these things already somewhere along the line, and Torrance would be the first to quote the Nike ads: Just Do It!

After the Expo, Torrance was flying back to Massachusetts, where she owns not one, but two, farms. She trains, gives lessons and campaigns clients' horses out of her Morningfield Farm, and is still actively competing herself. With her current mount, 13-year-old, successful ex-race horse Majestic Reef, Torrance is long-listed for the 2000 Olympics in Australia. "The list is long," she admits, but if the gelding stays sound and does well at the upcoming Kentucky Rolex and Fox Hall events, they could still be in the running.

Torrance is also actively pursuing a second career as an FEI level course designer. She already has her large "R" rating and has designed the courses for several prestigious events on the east coast. She'll have to do some serious juggling this summer as the Rolex event is being used as part of the training for the course designer program.

In her spare time, Torrance is very excited about the renovation projects at her Massachusetts properties. The two farms are about a mile and a half apart, 250 and 350 acres, and were completely overgrown when she got them. As they mow, dig and "de-rock" the land, they're finding all sorts of surprises-such as old walls and other remnants of pre-Colonial times. "It's really exciting," she says, "but a lot of work." They're clearing the land for pasture and hay fields and also for their upcoming 3-star event, "Over the Walls," to be held later this year. Work on the 1740s house is time-consuming but "it's going to be gorgeous when it's done!"

In 1988 Torrance experienced a tragedy that she still remembers with sorrow. A barn fire destroyed four of her international level horses and she was devastated. But something good came of the catastrophe. The horse community gathered around her, and if it wasn't for her students, friends and fellow competitors, she doesn't know how she would have coped. It's not always like that, she is quick to add. The horse world has its share of "bad eggs," just like any other, but for the most part, her experience has been positive.

One of the "good eggs" lives right here in the Northwest. Torrance speaks of Kevin Freeman with warm affection. "Kevin is one of my heroes," she says. "A real class act. He was very kind to me as I was coming up the ranks, and is a man of complete integrity."

Well, we already knew it, but it's nice to hear it from someone else!