Back when Torrey Wilkinson was a sophomore in college she became captivated with the Andalusian. She’d signed up to study abroad in Spain and was introduced to the breed, then later went to Ecuador for seven months and had the opportunity to ride a few which solidified her resolve.

“I actually loved the breed and their mind and how adept they were for dressage, and I sort of fell in love with them,” said Wilkinson.

So she went to her mother Debby Messick, who has a small Hanoverian breeding business, hoping she’d get her dream horse.

It took seven years to wear her mom down and convince her to let her breed to an Andalusian, but after careful research Wilkinson found the Andalusian stallion Temerario VII (Temerario V—Celosa III, Capitano) who’d shown to Intermediaire II.

Torrey Wilkinson and Talisman BHF at the 2016 U.S. Dressage Finals. Photo by Lisa Slade.

She bred him to her mother’s Thoroughbred mare Dance On Air, which produced her mare Talisman BHF, an 11-year-old Andalusian-Thoroughbred (Temerario VII—Dance On Air).

“It took seven years to breed her. She was the seventh foal out of her dam, and she was conceived on the seventh try,” said Wilkinson. “It took my mom seven tries breeding that mare—it was the last time we were going to do it. We were going to give up after that, and she finally took.”

Now that she finally had the horse she wanted Wilkinson had a lot of work ahead of her. She’d never had a horse that young and all of her previous horses were well schooled. She started “Tali” under saddle at 3, but when the mare ran through a gate and had to have surgery on a gash to her shoulder, their saddle training was put on hold.

Torrey Wilkonson with husband Bruce and son James. Photo courtesy of Torrey Wilkinson.

Wilkinson took that opportunity to build a relationship with the mare and teach her to load onto the trailer. Once they got back on the right track, they made steady progress, earning their U.S. Dressage Federation bronze and silver medals and have now competed up to Intermediaire I.

“The furthest I got before this mare was first level, so we are definitely learning the level together,” she said. “It’s been kind of surprising to me that I was able to train her up to this level. We’re starting the Grand Prix movements—I think we’ll get there next year. It’s been a cool adventure.”

Torrey Wilkinson and Talisman BHF at Dressage At Devon. Photo by Lindsay Berreth.

Wilkinson started riding at 7 on the hunter/jumper circuit before switching to eventing when she started riding with an event trainer. For several years she competed on a Thoroughbred/Tennessee Walker cross, and when she outgrew him she got a Hanoverian/Appaloosa cross that was better suited for the dressage ring, so she made the switch with him.

Though her heart is firmly rooted in dressage, Wilkinson has always taken her horse’s preference into account, but luckily Tali is also enthusiastic about her job. She still cross trains and sets up small jumping exercises at home and even took Tali to a horse trial early in her career.

She keeps her horses, including her retired Hanoverian/Appaloosa who looks after her latest breeding project, a 6-month-old Hanoverian (Richmond H.L.—Genoveva) filly named Reina AF, at her small farm in Purcellville, Va., and has Holly Wilmoth come over to teach lessons.

“That is definitely one of the keys to my success is to be able to walk out of my back door and hop on my horse,” Wilkinson said. “My trainer is 10 minutes down the road, and she comes and gives me a lesson usually weekly, so that’s been hugely convenient.”

Outside of riding Wilkinson has a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology and works on career development, performance management and leadership development at Booz Allen Hamilton. She also has a 2-year-old son, James, who has already taken a fancy to the horses.

“I let him get on the horses occasionally—I’d put him on their backs and let them walk around,” she said. “He does like the horses a lot. He’s a super helper around the barn. He has his own muck pick because he likes to scoop poop.

“He did ride in the stick horse class [at Dressage at Devon] which he loved,” she continued. “He got the biggest ribbon I’ve ever seen that’s hanging in his room. He’s very proud of it. It’s a neck sash, and they had to wrap it around him several times. I went to Devon and got three little ribbons, and he came home with a giant ribbon!’ ”