112 SIDELINES MARCH 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Stewart. Soon she was competing junior hunters and jumping 3’6”
courses. Her education has been an amazing journey, thanks to
Scott, his partner at Rivers Edge, jumper rider/trainer Ken Berkley,
Missy, clinics with George Morris, and her mother Brigid Colvin.
Tori has partnered with some of the nation’s top show hunters,
including Dr. Betsee Parker’s Way Cool, Dedication, Inclusive and
Ovation.
“Tori already surpassed the entire junior careers of our best
Olympic riders by the time she was 14, so it is a given that she
has a unique gift of communication with horses,” said Betsee. “I
always enjoy watching how horses draw confidence from Tori
as soon as she gets up on them. They become transformed and
beautifully shaped in a few minutes because of her excellent
balance between her leg and hand. As a person, she is also
exemplary, as she never cries if she loses and never criticizes
judges or competitors for any reason. I learn from Tori Colvin
every day.”
Considering her many accomplishments, Tori’s attitude remains
quite humble. Last year she made history at Devon by being
e
By Lauren R. Giannini
V
ictoria (Tori) Colvin, now 16 and driving, has been racking
up rosettes, tri-colors and various Best Child/Junior Rider
titles for many years. As a very young catch rider she
climbed on the freshest, hottest ponies and rode so chilly and
with such finesse that they went quietly and well on course. She
honed her gifted eye for the jumps, graduating young from ponies
to junior hunters and expanded her repertoire to include hunter
derbies and classics, junior and grand prix jumpers.
For the past three years Tori has been working on her equitation
with trainer Missy Clark, who runs North Run with her husband
John Brennan in Vermont and Wellington, Florida. “Tori is some
talent. She’s unusual – has an amazing feel on a horse – she’s a
natural,” said Missy. “Horses jump well for her. She has worked
hard to get here. She’s at the age where she wants to fine-tune all
the small details, put the polishing touches on her equitation. She
is taking her riding to a whole new level. I think that Tori is one of
the most talented riders I’ve ever seen.”
Tori was nine when she began taking lessons from Scott
Linda Luster’s painting of Way Cool and Tori Colvin.
By permission of Dr. Betsee Parker. Photo by Linda Luster
The Extraordinary Tori Colvin
Continued on page 114
