University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Kate Kramer
February 21, 2019 | Equestrian, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Kate Kramer is a vibrant and energetic junior from Menlo Park, Calif. Her high school was about two miles from Stanford University in one direction and three miles from Facebook headquarters in another, so Kramer is a long way from home.
Still, the equestrian rider is having a blast at Georgia. Of course, with an outgoing personality like hers, it would seem that Kramer brings the good times with her wherever she goes.
During a fun and wide-ranging Quick Chat recently, she talked about coming to Georgia, her love of authentic Mexican food, true-crime TV shows, podcasts and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How did you get started with riding and equestrian — were you practically born on a horse or did it come later?
Kramer: I think it was a little bit of a combination because my mom has ridden horses ever since she was little. She actually lived on a farm for a little bit, so when I was really little horses were a big part of my life, but my dad does not care for the horses very much (laughs).
I think they made an effort to make sure it was my decision to start riding because they didn't want me to feel forced to do it or to spend a bunch of money on a sport that I didn't like. I think it was when I was 5 years old, my parents finally let me start riding formally, and I've ridden ever since.
Frierson: What was it that took it from being a hobby to being this huge passion that ultimately led you across the country to Georgia?
Kramer: I grew up going to horse shows with my grandma and mom and I was always around it, even when I didn't really ride yet. I saw everyone else doing it and I wanted to be just like them. I also tried out a lot of other sports when I was younger and I did not like any of them (laughs). I was the one that sat down on the soccer field instead of actually playing soccer.
Ultimately, I think all of the moving pieces brought me to end up riding.
Frierson: What moving pieces brought you to Georgia?
Kramer: I obviously came from very far across the country, but I really liked it here. I had a lot of different options (in recruiting) and I didn't really know what I wanted to study, so there was nothing else that was really directing me towards a certain school. It was basically the team and which school I liked the best.
I think I ultimately decided to go to Georgia when ... because I decided so late, there was talk that I wasn't going to get to go to Georgia (because it might not still have a scholarship available). I totally lost it and was crying, and then I was like, OK, maybe this is the school I need to go to if I'm so emotionally invested.
I did love the school and however cheesy it sounds, when I got to go to my first football game here on my official visit, it just felt like I wanted to go here. And I did love the coaches and the team and as time went on I fell in love a lot more with the rest of the school.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Kramer: Probably any type of Mexican food. I'm a big sucker for Mexican food and it's been very difficult coming from a place that has really, really good Mexican food to a place where it's been very difficult for me to find good Mexican food (laughs).
Frierson: Well I'm here to help. Tom Black, the volleyball coach, is from the L.A. area and he had the same problem. He's the biggest taco snob I've ever encountered and he wasn't truly happy in Athens until I introduced him to Los Reyes, an authentic and spectacular spot out past Athens Christian School. (We even did one of these Quick Chats from there.)
Kramer: I've never been there, I've never heard of it.
Frierson: It's about 10 miles from East Campus Village and the tacos, the only things we've ever gotten there, are very authentic and delicious. Tom practically wept the first time we went, so if it got his seal of approval then I bet you'd love it, too.
Kramer: (Laughs) I will have to try it because I am very passionate about it.
Frierson: What's something creative you do, or something creative you wish you could do?
Kramer: I think I used to be a lot more creative, like when I was younger. I don't really do anything creative now (laughs), unfortunately. I used to be really into photography when I was younger and I can't draw or paint or do anything, so that was the one creative thing or artistic thing I did.
I did a lot of plays when I was younger and I did a lot of singing. I came to college and I was like, OK, I'm going to be a Theatre minor, that's it, I'm going to do it. I didn't know my major but I was like, I will be a Theatre minor. I took a single Theatre class, hated it, so (laughs) now I'm not a Theatre minor. But there was a point in my life when I was very into theatre.
Frierson: What was it that didn't work for you?
Kramer: Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to be an actress. That was my job of choice, I was always going to be an actress, and I was always like, I think I'm going to be a movie actress.
Movie people are very different from theatre people and I think I went into this thinking, OK, this is going to be the movie crowd, here we go. ... It just wasn't for me. I was like, this was a good learning experience but I will move on.
I tell myself I'm going to take another theatre class because maybe it was just a fluky one before, but we will see.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing in 10 years?
Kramer: The job as of now, and I seem to change my opinion about every week (laughs), I don't know actually what it's formally called, but it's basically a criminal psychologist within the FBI.
Frierson: Is this from one of those procedural shows?
Kramer: It's from "Mindhunter" on Netflix, and I want to have that job specifically (laughs), and I don't quite know how I'll go about getting said job.
Frierson: Because America is, myself included, currently a bit obsessed with true crime and serial killers, are you caught up in all that?
Kramer: Definitely. I've always really like crime shows and I listen to a bunch of podcasts like "My Favorite Murder." My interest in the job was definitely fueled by a lot of podcasts and me falling down a very dark hole on the internet, where I'm researching all of these people and reading all of their Wikipedia pages.
It was something that I always found very interesting, and I feel like if I was able to get that exact job I think I would be good at it. ... Criminology has always been very interesting to me.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
