Tori Colvin made a name for herself as a junior, winning just about every championship title in the hunters, jumpers, and equitation rings, often against professionals and many multiple times over. After such a prolific junior career, Colvin went out on her own and has been a fixture in the professional divisions ever since. 

A three-time winner of the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship (Kentucky), Colvin continues to rack up wins in the derby ring. On May 9, she and Castellrock LLC’s Dicoblue PS topped the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Aiken Charity Horse Show II in Aiken, South Carolina.

We caught up with Colvin, 27, who’s based in Loxahatchee, Florida, to learn more about “Blue,” an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Diarado’s Boy—Chactine, Chacco-Blue), her current business and her up-and-coming homebreds.

Why did you choose the Aiken Charity Horse Show as a target for Blue?

We’ve been going to that show the last five or six years now, and it’s a very good first away show from the [winter] season. It’s a nice facility, has a lot of grass, but it’s not massive, so a lot of the horses really like it. This horse particularly, we’re aiming towards the derbies and [the USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship]. The previous week they had the [$25,000 Mahoney-Miller Hunter Classic], and he was second in that, so we kind of targeted those bigger classes with him there.

We hadn’t done a derby in a couple months, so I didn’t know how he would do, but he was really, really good. He seems to like that horse show. Last year he was second in that derby, so he came back and won, which was nice. He feels very comfortable and happy there. 

What do you think makes him a good derby horse?

He doesn’t care about anything. He doesn’t spook. He’s very level-headed. We don’t even longe him. He’s a very good soul. He’s very handy as well. I think all those kind of make him into a derby horse. He’s beautiful to look at but still has the scope to be able to jump the big jumps with not basically using any effort but still making it look like he’s jumping really well. 

Sadly, he is for sale, and there’s a couple people looking at him right now. So, I’m not sure we’ll have him in the barn too much longer, even though I would love to be able to show him at derby finals.

What’s his personality like?

Very sweet. Loves cuddles. He’s in your in your face. He’s a little spoiled, but that’s OK. He’ll ask anybody for treats. He’s a very sweet guy, and he just likes to be cuddled. He’s overall just genuinely, very, very sweet.

I wanted to talk to you a little bit about where you’re at in your career and your business. What types of horses do you have in your barn right now?

Basically, a little bit of everything. I have a couple 7-year-old jumpers who are, knock on wood, I think very nice. And then we have some sale horses as well. I have a lot of babies. We [Colvin and her mother, Brigid Colvin] bred a couple. I have a lot of 4-year-olds that are coming up right now, hunters and jumpers, and then some client horses. Right now, we have 16 horses in the barn, and during [the Winter Equestrian Festival (Florida)] we had 25.

The oldest one that I’ve bred is named Naminko (Cornet Obolensky—Wamkina, Fedor). He’s a 6-year-old jumper, out of my old junior jumper Wamkina. He jumps exceptionally well. He could almost be a hunter or a jumper. He seems like he’s going to be really talented. And then I have a couple baby hunters that are 4, which I haven’t shown yet, that are coming up right now. And then we have about like 10 foals in Kentucky right now. My mom gets excited [about bloodlines], so she likes to have a lot of babies. I have to tell her to slow down!

We’ve just bred one by Mumbai [formerly ridden by 2024 Paris Olympic champion Christian Kukuk]. We’re testing out the waters of all the breedings. We have a couple Chacco-Blues, Cornet Obolenskys, and we’re kind of feeling out which one seems to make the best temperament and the best talent. There’s a couple of them that are in Virginia, getting backed and figuring out their lives right now.

What do you like about doing the young horses?

I like it because it’s very fun to see them come along. Like my 6-year-old I have, I’ve seen him since he was a foal and born in Kentucky, and then he was being backed in Virginia, and then he came here, and he was still quite green when he came here. But I started in the 0.90 [-meter classes], and now we’ve made it up to the 1.20s, and it’s pretty cool. And hopefully next year will be in the 1.30s, and hopefully he’ll just keep going bigger and bigger. It’s cool to watch them grow.

Has there been anything that’s surprised you about being a professional in the hunter/jumper industry?

It wasn’t as much of a shock as I feel like maybe for some, because when I was a junior I was already showing in the professional divisions when I was with Scott [Stewart]. Yes, when I went off and on my own, it was a little different. But then I kind of went right into riding for the Ingrams at that time, so it wasn’t as much of a dramatic change. I kind of just kept doing the same thing. It’s a little different [now] because it’s solely my barn, but it’s kind of just all transitioned into each other slowly.

What have you taken away from some of the programs and trainers you’ve worked with to your own business?

A little bit of everything. For the equitation, especially, I rode mostly with Andre [Dignelli] and Heritage [Farm], but I rode a little bit with Missy Clark and then with Scott, and so I had a little bit of everybody, which I feel like helps a lot, because every everybody’s a little bit different. You learn a different thing from everybody.

What part of your job is the most fulfilling?

The babies, watching them grow. Watching Izzy [Isabelle Castellanos], the one student that I have right now, watching her grow and learn new things and succeed. I started her when she was on the small ponies, and then she just did the [WEF Equitation Championship]. That’s fulfilling for me. 

Do you have any big goals for 2025 for yourself?

It’s a little difficult because we have a lot of young horses. We were planning to go to Devon [Pennsylvania], and we had three or four going, and then one is possibly getting sold, and then the other one is maybe getting sold. So, I don’t know if we’ll go there. And then my jumpers are just 7, so they can do enough, but they’re still young, so I don’t want to push them too much. So right now, we’re in a little bit of a waiting game.

We’re definitely doing derby finals and indoors. Izzy is going to do all the finals, so that’ll be fun and exciting. But we don’t really have too much of a plan. 

What about goals for your career? 

The biggest thing would just be to keep having more jumpers and trying to produce grand prix horses.

I’ve had one here and there, and then some young horses, but I haven’t had enough yet. You need a good string. I’m hoping to build that string, and then hopefully they’ll be able to jump the bigger stuff. When I was a junior I had a couple really, really nice horses. My main nice horse was Cafino, and I was able to show him at a World Cup [qualifier] and stuff like that. That would be my dream [to get back to that level].