University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Kendall Gill
March 25, 2021 | Equestrian, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Kendall Gill has a horse named Clyde. His registered name is Huntin Lucky Charms, but the Georgia equestrian junior calls him Clyde.
Gill, from Leesburg, Ga., a small town of about 3,000 people located 10 miles north of Albany, started riding when she was young. It has been a part of her pretty much her entire life. And Clyde, he's like a member of the family.
During a recent Quick Chat, Gill talked about Clyde, her start in the sport, Leesburg, funny teammates, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How did you get started with horses and equestrian?
Gill: I'm definitely one of those that was kind of born on a horse. Both my mom and my aunt showed growing up, and we always had horses in our backyard. I actually started showing my mom's old show horse, so it's definitely in my blood and it runs in the family.
Frierson: When you first started riding, was it the most natural thing in the world? How quickly did you take to it and realize that it was something you wanted to get heavily involved with?
Gill: I think I always kind of had a feeling that I would do it for a long time, and it was always something that I really enjoyed. I love being around horses and I really enjoyed the time I got to spend around my mom with the horses. I think at the beginning that was it.
When I got into middle school I was playing other sports and I had to make the decision about whether I was going to put all of my time and energy into horse or other things. I'm definitely the kind of person that wants to do everything 100%, and I knew that I couldn't do all of those things 100%. When it came down to it, I chose horses over the other things — and I'm so glad I did.
Frierson: Given everything that's gone on in the world in the past year or so, has riding meant something more to you over this time? When you're on a horse I'm guessing you're not thinking too much about the pandemic or anything else going on.
Gill: Absolutely. I actually moved my horse closer to me during this time. It really helped me get through a lot this summer, especially when we couldn't be out at the barn. When you're on a horse everything else goes away. It just makes you feel better and it puts some things into perspective, like how fortunate we really are to be able to do this.
It's definitely been a stable thing for me to be able to do during this time.
Frierson: Tell me about your horse.
Gill: His name is Clyde, and his registered name is Huntin Lucky Charms. I've had him since he was 3 — I got him as an unshown 3-year-old. He's 10 now so I've had him for a while, and he's a part of the family. I love him, I've learned a lot on him, and he's been great. I've learned a lot from him.
Frierson: Tell me about home. When you think of home, what comes to mind?
Gill: Horses [laughs]. I grew up in Leesburg, and it's a small town. It's the kind of place where if you don't know someone then you know someone who knows that person. It was a great place to grow up.
Most of my time was spent at the barn, and I was really fortunate to have two great trainers, Jonathan and Joanna Himes. They taught me not only so much about horses but so much about life. I was really grateful to have those two people as role models in my life.
Frierson: I'm looking at the Wikipedia page for Leesburg right now, in the Notable People section …
Gill: There are a lot of them for such a small town.
Frierson: I was going to say, There's Luke Bryan, Buster Posey, a Miss Georgia, an American Idol winner and some others.
Gill: The running joke in the town is that there's something in the water. It was definitely a cool place to grow up. I think what makes Leesburg really special is that everyone gives back to it. Buster Posey is one that comes to mind, he gave so much back to his high school baseball program. I think when you do have people like that, they're giving back to Leesburg, and I think that's really special.
Luke Bryan will make appearances at our Friday night football games, so it's a pretty cool place to grow up.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Gill: Probably Barberito's. I love Barberito's, it's so good. Whenever I'm having a bad day, or even when I'm having a good day, I got to Barb's. I love. I'm going to be sad if I move somewhere that doesn't have a Barb's.
Frierson: Do you have a standard order?
Gill: I always get the same thing, I get a burrito bowl with chicken and cheese and pico and beans. It's pretty basic but it's good.
Another thing I eat a lot is peanut butter crackers. Those are my staple snack, so we always have Ritz peanut butter crackers in the house.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Gill: That's a hard one. A place I've always wanted to go is Greece, so I think that would be really fun, and I'd probably take my best friend Kadie Sanford, she's on the team, and my mom.
I love the movie "Mamma Mia!," so that's what I think of when I think of Greece — I know that's probably not realistic.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Gill: We have a lot of big personalities on the team. I guess the first person that comes to mind would be my roommate, Kadie, she's absolutely hilarious. She's known for wearing her Pit Vipers on meet days which is always really fun. And then also Kaitlin Dierks, she's hilarious. She says whatever's on her mind and it's always very funny.
Those are two people that always bring that kind of energy to the team.
Frierson: I don't know what Pit Vipers are.
Gill: [Laughs] They're sunglasses and hers are red. If you look up a picture of them, it takes a certain personality to wear them, and she completely pulls them off.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Kendall Gill has a horse named Clyde. His registered name is Huntin Lucky Charms, but the Georgia equestrian junior calls him Clyde.
Gill, from Leesburg, Ga., a small town of about 3,000 people located 10 miles north of Albany, started riding when she was young. It has been a part of her pretty much her entire life. And Clyde, he's like a member of the family.
During a recent Quick Chat, Gill talked about Clyde, her start in the sport, Leesburg, funny teammates, and much more. Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: How did you get started with horses and equestrian?
Gill: I'm definitely one of those that was kind of born on a horse. Both my mom and my aunt showed growing up, and we always had horses in our backyard. I actually started showing my mom's old show horse, so it's definitely in my blood and it runs in the family.
Frierson: When you first started riding, was it the most natural thing in the world? How quickly did you take to it and realize that it was something you wanted to get heavily involved with?
Gill: I think I always kind of had a feeling that I would do it for a long time, and it was always something that I really enjoyed. I love being around horses and I really enjoyed the time I got to spend around my mom with the horses. I think at the beginning that was it.
When I got into middle school I was playing other sports and I had to make the decision about whether I was going to put all of my time and energy into horse or other things. I'm definitely the kind of person that wants to do everything 100%, and I knew that I couldn't do all of those things 100%. When it came down to it, I chose horses over the other things — and I'm so glad I did.
Frierson: Given everything that's gone on in the world in the past year or so, has riding meant something more to you over this time? When you're on a horse I'm guessing you're not thinking too much about the pandemic or anything else going on.
Gill: Absolutely. I actually moved my horse closer to me during this time. It really helped me get through a lot this summer, especially when we couldn't be out at the barn. When you're on a horse everything else goes away. It just makes you feel better and it puts some things into perspective, like how fortunate we really are to be able to do this.
It's definitely been a stable thing for me to be able to do during this time.
Frierson: Tell me about your horse.
Gill: His name is Clyde, and his registered name is Huntin Lucky Charms. I've had him since he was 3 — I got him as an unshown 3-year-old. He's 10 now so I've had him for a while, and he's a part of the family. I love him, I've learned a lot on him, and he's been great. I've learned a lot from him.
Frierson: Tell me about home. When you think of home, what comes to mind?
Gill: Horses [laughs]. I grew up in Leesburg, and it's a small town. It's the kind of place where if you don't know someone then you know someone who knows that person. It was a great place to grow up.
Most of my time was spent at the barn, and I was really fortunate to have two great trainers, Jonathan and Joanna Himes. They taught me not only so much about horses but so much about life. I was really grateful to have those two people as role models in my life.
Frierson: I'm looking at the Wikipedia page for Leesburg right now, in the Notable People section …
Gill: There are a lot of them for such a small town.
Frierson: I was going to say, There's Luke Bryan, Buster Posey, a Miss Georgia, an American Idol winner and some others.
Gill: The running joke in the town is that there's something in the water. It was definitely a cool place to grow up. I think what makes Leesburg really special is that everyone gives back to it. Buster Posey is one that comes to mind, he gave so much back to his high school baseball program. I think when you do have people like that, they're giving back to Leesburg, and I think that's really special.
Luke Bryan will make appearances at our Friday night football games, so it's a pretty cool place to grow up.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Gill: Probably Barberito's. I love Barberito's, it's so good. Whenever I'm having a bad day, or even when I'm having a good day, I got to Barb's. I love. I'm going to be sad if I move somewhere that doesn't have a Barb's.
Frierson: Do you have a standard order?
Gill: I always get the same thing, I get a burrito bowl with chicken and cheese and pico and beans. It's pretty basic but it's good.
Another thing I eat a lot is peanut butter crackers. Those are my staple snack, so we always have Ritz peanut butter crackers in the house.
Frierson: If you could travel anywhere in the world on somebody else's dime, where would you like to go and who would you take with you?
Gill: That's a hard one. A place I've always wanted to go is Greece, so I think that would be really fun, and I'd probably take my best friend Kadie Sanford, she's on the team, and my mom.
I love the movie "Mamma Mia!," so that's what I think of when I think of Greece — I know that's probably not realistic.
Frierson: Who is the funniest person on the team?
Gill: We have a lot of big personalities on the team. I guess the first person that comes to mind would be my roommate, Kadie, she's absolutely hilarious. She's known for wearing her Pit Vipers on meet days which is always really fun. And then also Kaitlin Dierks, she's hilarious. She says whatever's on her mind and it's always very funny.
Those are two people that always bring that kind of energy to the team.
Frierson: I don't know what Pit Vipers are.
Gill: [Laughs] They're sunglasses and hers are red. If you look up a picture of them, it takes a certain personality to wear them, and she completely pulls them off.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director 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.
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