Biography
 

Born in 1963 in Puerto Rico to American parents, Mark Watring began riding hunter/jumper at age 10 and by 16 was named Missouri's Junior Horseman of the Year. In 1979, Mark moved to England to begin 3-day eventing training with Lars Sederholm at the Waterstock Horse Training Centre near Oxford. Mark finished this three-year program by becoming the highest placed American rider in the 1982 Burghley 3-day eventing competition. At 19, Mark was invited to be the alternate for the U.S. equestrian team at the 1982 World Championships in Ilumulen, German. In 1984, Mark was selected to complete in the Los Angeles Olympic Games for his birth country, Puerto Rico.

After the Olympics, Mark remained in Southern California to continue training and teaching, first at the Foxfield Riding Club and later at his own Mark Watring Stables. In 2001, on his new mount Sapphire, he was named the American Grand Prix Association's "Rookie of the Year".  In addition to competing in the 2004 Olympics Games in Athens, Mark rode in the 2002 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games, El Salvador (two individual golds and a silver), the 2003 Pan Am Games, Greece, (individual gold medal), and the 2006 CAC Games, Colombia, (two individual golds and a silver), along with numerous local and national Grand Prix wins.

Mark continues to train students across Southern California and to compete internationally. Sapphire, now semi-retired, was successfully cloned in 2010. His colt, Sapphir, is now 9 years old and lives at the Watring Stables. Mark's wife, Jenny, is also a highly skilled equestrian and trainer and was a longtime member of the Foxfield drill team. They have two sons, Sterling and Stone.