Nate Smith | Sports Director

When you think of Baylor Athletics, what sport comes to mind?

Maybe it’s football, basketball, or maybe even baseball. Chances are, Equestrian is not the first sport that you think of. Even if it is not the first sport you think of, for Gia Gulino the sport is a way of life.

“I played other sports,” Gulino said. “I played soccer, and tennis and all of that other stuff just to see if that was something that sparked my interest. But I always went back to the horses. From the beginning, I knew that I loved it and that if I tried really hard I could be really good.”

Gulino has been riding horses since she was in elementary school. Since then, Gulino has carried the lessons she learned from Equestrian with her.

“When I was, like, 10 or 11 I was at the barn for 10 hours a day because I would want to work, and help take care of the horses, and help with the management and help with the outside factors of just riding,” Gulino said. “So it taught me a lot, I became a very independent person.”

For the former Big 12 rider of the month and Big 12 All-Academic first team member, her work eventually led to something bigger. Gulino was a part of Baylor’s Big 12 championship team in 2017, providing her with a memory that she will not soon forget.

“They said the score and we looked around at each other and were like, ‘we won’” Gulino said. “That minute of everybody being like, ‘oh my gosh we just won’ was like chills. I get chills thinking about it now. The bus ride home, the ceremony, getting to see the seniors get so many accolades and so many awards, I think I cried the whole time. At least a couple of tears were coming down my face.”

As she enters the spring of her senior season, it seems as if Gulino wants to make this season even more successful than her first.

“My ultimate goal is to be an All-American,” Gulino said. “Our goal as a team is always to be super competitive at nationals. So we want to be super competitive at nationals, we plan to win Big 12s.”