She was born July 28, 1988, and immediately mounted a horse. Only being a few hours old, fresh from the hospital, and with no hesitation, her father guided and supported her on the horse’s back for her first of countless rides.

Today, Haylie Jayne, a junior on the Georgia equestrian team, can honestly say she has been riding horses her entire life.

“It’s a tradition in my family that when we came home from the hospital my dad would set us on a horse’s back,” Jayne said.

Growing up in Elgin, Ill., Jayne was constantly surrounded by horses, ponies and barns. From a family of equestrians – her two older siblings, Maggie and Charlie, had gone professional – it was inevitable that Jayne would pick up the sport.

“[Back] then, I’d put on my swimsuit, turn on the sprinklers, and ride my ponies through them,” said Jayne. “I remember my brother and I, we’d dress up as cowboys and ride around and shoot each other. It was a different type of riding then.”

Playing with horses and running with them through the sprinklers came to somewhat of a halt when Jayne began learning the intricacies of not only showing a horse, but also the amount of work needed to succeed in the sport.

“My brother and sister paved way for me, but [riding] came more naturally for them whereas I had to work harder,” said Jayne. “At about 12 and 13, it was very difficult for me, but it all came together when I was about 14 and 15. That was when I made the decision to do home school, and gave [riding] my all,” said Jayne.

Jayne chose to be home schooled before her junior year in high school. With that decision came more time for riding, and the eventual decision to compete at a college level.

Working at the that level, Jayne has racked up numerous honors, including five MVP awards and the team’s Rookie of the Year on the English side.

“Every time I go in the ring, I’m not just representing myself,” Jayne said. “I’m representing a team of 70 girls and UGA so it’s a lot of added pressure, but I like [it].”

Going from riding her horse through the sprinklers to riding at a collegiate level, Jayne has found her priorities shifting and changing since being in school. As a double major in classical culture and art history, the possibility of Jayne doing something other than riding professionally is becoming more and more real.

“I was for sure that I was going to ride [professionally] when I was done [with school]. But since I’ve been [in school] my priorities have changed slightly,” said Jayne. “I love horses, but I don’t want that to be the only thing I do forever. I might get my Master’s [degree] in art history, but don’t know what I want to do with it.”

Regardless of what the future holds for Jayne, one thing holds true: her love of horses.

“I love the [horses],” she said. “It’s why we all ride. That’s why every girl on the team started is just because they love horses.”