University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Caitlin Lyons
October 24, 2023 | Equestrian, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
This Quick Chat with Georgia equestrian rider Caitlin Lyons didn't start out as a deep dive into all things Taylor Swift, but that's how it ended up. Lyons is proudly among the massive legion of "Swifties" all across the country.
Lyons was the 2021 SEC Reining Rider of the Year, and she has earned SEC or national academic honors throughout her collegiate career. A fifth-year rider from Mead, Wash., Lyons graduated in May with a degree in Ecology and is working on another one in French.
Seated on the back porch of the main building at the UGA Equestrian Complex one day last week, a beautiful fall day perfect for going for a ride, Lyons talked during our Quick Chat about her unusual start with horses, her love of all things Taylor Swift, and much more.
Here's some of what she had to say:
Frierson: What is a perfect day for you out here?
Lyons: I feel like when you get to ride up top (in the fields) and it's a beautiful day, there's nothing like it. It's sunny, the sky is blue — I don't know, it just feels very one with nature.
Frierson: Were you practically born on a horse, or did you come to the sport practically out of nowhere?
Lyons: I came to it out of nowhere, but at the same time, I've been doing it forever. The story goes: I was two, and we were walking through some house that my parents were looking at, and I saw a stick horse — and I wanted to leave with it. It wasn't ours, but I wanted to leave with it. ... And, as two-year-old girls do, I threw a tantrum. And the only way my mom could get me to leave was to take me to Toys"R"Us and buy me a stick horse.
Ever since then, I had birthday parties from age three to eight at horse barns, and rode horses every chance I could get.
Frierson: Do you have a favorite horse out here?
Lyons: I have a few favorites: Ty, Henry and Royce. I think Ty, every time he steps into the arena he's going to give you 100%, and I just love horses that give you their all. He also is just a sweetheart. Henry, too, he's perfect at everything.
I love them all for a little bit of different reasons. Ty, because he's just so fun to ride and he's just a sweetheart. Henry, I also love because he's really sweet, very personable, tries really hard, but he's also just so fun to ride. And then Royce, whenever I ride him, I feel very accomplished by the time I'm done. He's different from Ty in the way that you have to work pretty hard to get him to where you want him to be, but by the end you feel very accomplished.
My love for Royce has developed over the last two years, but I loved Ty from the day I got on him.
Frierson: Did you play a bunch of different sports when you were growing up? And do those sports and experiences help you out here?
Lyons: I played every sport imaginable; I played softball, lacrosse, basketball, and I did soccer all the way up until the beginning of my sophomore year. I played soccer freshman year and rode horses and it just got to where I had to choose one, and I chose horses. I also did competitive cheerleading when I was younger, and then I did high school cheer my junior and senior years.
I do think all of that helped me a lot. I've always been on teams, and I think that experience helped me coming here and knowing that you're competing for a bigger purpose than yourself. You have to work as a team to accomplish your goals. And your horse is your teammate, too. Being on a team when I was younger has made a tremendous difference here.
Frierson: When you finish your last class of the day, do you come straight here and get to work? It's about a 20-minute drive from campus, so do you have any kind of routine to get you in the mood to ride?
Lyons: I think the drive out here is kind of nice. You get 20 minutes to call your mom, or you just want to listen to your favorite music, or you just need to relax and listen to a podcast or something. It gives you time to take a moment and breathe, so when you get here you're like, OK, I'm done with school now and now I'm just here at the barn.
If I can, I try to go home before practice, to try to have lunch at home and take a second, but some days that's just not possible. I try to fuel my body and fuel my mind before I get here.
Frierson: Do you listen to any music in particular to get you ready to ride and be around the horses?
Lyons: I think if you asked anyone on this team, they would tell you I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan. I basically have a Spotify of her entire discography, and I listen to that religiously. I love to roll the windows down and feel the wind go through the car — if feels very peaceful — and I feel like you disassociate from the stressors in your life. You're just like, what a beautiful day to be here and to be doing what we do, and then Taylor Swift just always makes me happy.
Frierson: What is it like being a big Taylor Swift fan now, when she's one of the biggest musicians and celebrities in the world, and she's dating Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce?
Lyons: It's amazing. It's awesome. I love it. I've loved her since I was 13, so I grew up with her. I listen to her songs and I can connect emotionally, and I can be like, Oh, wow, it makes be feel so much better knowing that someone else feels like that, too. I think that's really important.
She talks a lot about being a woman and how hard it can be. ... Any mood, I can go back and listen to her music. If I want to be hyped up, I can listen "reputation." If I want to just be in a folksy mood, I can listen to "folklore." If I want to scream my head off, I can listen to "1989." She has a lot of range in the music she produces. And she's also just a really cool human.
She loves her fans as much as we love her, and I think that's a big difference for me. I think there's very much a connection there and it's a two-way street.
Frierson: Are you studying up on all things Kansas City and Kelce?
Lyons: Absolutely. The new podcast I'm listening to is New Heights by the Kelce brothers, for obvious reasons. But I actually really liked them already after they played each other in the Super Bowl. ... I thought they were pretty cool before the introduction to Taylor Swift, but obviously now it's even cooler, in my opinion.
(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.
