University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Ada Rohan
February 23, 2020 | Equestrian, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Ada Rohan isn't used to rainy days in February, certainly not like we've had in Athens in recent weeks. She's from Vermont, which means a white winter, not a wet winter.
A freshman on the Georgia equestrian team, Rohan has adjusted nicely to Athens since she made the 20-hour drive south with her father last summer. During a recent Quick Chat on a very cold and rainy afternoon in the Classic City, Rohan talked about taking a gap year, the daily drive to the UGA Equestrian Complex in Bishop, a perfect bite of food and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: Were you practically born on a horse like a lot of your teammates or did you come to horses and riding a little bit later on in life?
Rohan: My mom's a trainer and my grandmother, my mom's mom, also grew up riding, so it's been in the family and I grew up riding since I was little.
Frierson: What drew you to it initially and what keeps you motivated and passionate about it now?
Rohan: I think when I first started, past when I was really little, it was fun and I got to hang out with my friends, and I would do a lot of summer camps and stuff. I used to be really into theater and chorus and stuff, and there were a few camps where I could do both, which was kind of cool.
Now, it's still for fun but it's different — I like the competition aspect of it and especially here the team aspect of it.
Frierson: When you think of home or your hometown, what comes to mind?
Rohan: I'm from Vermont, so I think of the north, cold, freezing — right now it would be snowing and not raining [laughs], so I'm not used to all this rain in February.
My roommates always make fun of me because Vermont is a very big maple syrup area and I won't have fake maple syrup. They're like, you're so picky. Well, if you were from Vermont you'd do the same thing.
Frierson: I've been to states around Vermont but I've never been there, so is it as green and beautiful as I think it is?
Rohan: Yeah, it's beautiful. There's not as much to do in Vermont, not like there is here in Athens, so you've got to make your own fun. We'll always walk around, go hiking and stuff like that. It's very pretty, especially in the fall with the foliage and now with the snow.
I took a gap year after high school and worked at a ski mountain for a few months, which was a way to embrace the cold [laughs] and not be freezing when it's 10 below. It's all very pretty in the fall and the winter, and the summer.
Frierson: What did you get out of your gap year?
Rohan: I finished up my junior (equestrian) career and then took a bit of a break and did the skiing over the winter. Then I competed again until I came to school here.
It was definitely a good break. I've always been young for my grade because my birthday's in August, so I kind of got pushed forward into kindergarten instead of waiting. I'm not old for my grade now so I think it all worked out for the best. After the break, I was very ready to go right to school.
Frierson: When you came to Georgia, did you drive down from Vermont?
Rohan: I did, 20 hours later and we're here. It was a long drive, my dad and I drove down here and we did a longer day and a shorter day. The first day was like 12 hours or so and then we stayed the night in Virginia, then we drove the rest of the way the next day. It was far and I'll drive back at the end of the year.
Frierson: Will you drive back alone or will one of your parents come along for the ride?
Rohan: My friend on the golf team (Celeste Dao), she's from (Quebec) Canada, and we've been talking about how so her parents don't have to come all the way down here, she might drive back with me. Her parents could then get her from Vermont, which is two hours from the Canadian border, rather than coming to Georgia. We'll figure that out at the end of the year, at some point.
Frierson: When you drive out to Bishop for practice, do you have a usual routine for the drive? Are there songs you always sing or anything to get yourself in the mood for riding?
Rohan: Usually I'll put on country music as soon as I get in the car. I kind of listen to a variety of music but when I got out to the barn I'll listen to that. It's just nice, it gets my in the right headspace. It makes me happy and if I've had a stressful day it's nice to just drive and listen to some music and get ready for the barn.
Frierson: One of the great things about equestrian to me, as an outsider, is that you're often competing on a horse you've only just met. Is there some magic to learning how to read a horse very quickly in the few minutes you're allotted?
Rohan: I don't know who said it, I think it was Isabelle Heckler, who's a senior and has been really helpful to me in my time here. How she explained it was, it was like test-driving a car. You've got to push all the different buttons and see how much you can push it. ... You've got four minutes and you've just got to see where your boundaries and limitations are.
Frierson: This is my new favorite question — what is the single best bite of food you've ever had?
Rohan: There was a dinner that my family and I had, at a place called Michael's On The Hill, it's in Vermont, and it's unbelievably good. We had a really good dinner there before I left for school and I had this steak and it was just so good — steak and potatoes. It was the most basic but it was so good.
Frierson: The way your face is lighting up as you remember it is a good sign.
Rohan: Yeah, it was so good.
(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.
