It takes a lot of skill to ride a horse, especially one that turns around a barrel at speed, let alone doing it with little or no eyesight.
That is the reality of South Australian barrel racer Megan McLoughlin, who has become the only legally blind person to qualify for the Australian barrel racing national finals.
She competes on her horse Biscuit.
"Once I get on him the nerves settle and he does the normal, 'We've got this, you just sit and relax'," she said.
Ms McLoughlin, 43, has been legally blind since the age of 26 when botched laser surgery left her with just seven per cent vision.
She had a number of national titles under her belt at that stage and was determined to continue in the sport she had loved since she was a child.
Ms McLoughlin relies on whistles to guide her around the barrels. (Supplied: Melanie Pringle)
Barrel racing involves the horse and rider completing a clover-leaf pattern around three drums, with the rider recording the fastest time deemed the winner.
Ms McLoughlin has relied on the sounds of whistles from her friends for direction.
"Even though you lose one sense, it doesn't mean you can't rely on the others, and I rely on my hearing," she said.
"I use what's called echolocation ... I can hear sound so what I do is I head towards the sound and as it gets louder I know I'm getting closer to the drums."
Megan flew a team of helpers from South Australia to guide her. (ABC New England: Lara Webster)
Long journey
Qualifying for the national barrel racing finals has been along and difficult journey.
It was five years ago when Ms McLoughlin decided to compete again, and for the past three years she has been working towards her goal.
Other attempts in previous years were stopped by health issues and surgeries.
She was born with only one kidney and diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of eight.
As well as being legally blind, she is a double transplant recipient and being treated for cancer.
It has taken Ms McLoughlin years to qualify as a legally blind competitor. (ABC New England: Lara Webster)
"Right at the eleventh hour, every time, there was a surgery or something planned," she said.
She said she had been more proactive this year with planning surgeries so she could finally fulfil her dream.
"I had a hip replacement nine weeks ago to get here," Ms McLoughlin said.
She said she would be having her left breast removed on September 10 for breast cancer.
Ms McLoughlin threw her hat in the air after finishing her second run at the nationals. (ABC New England: Lara Webster)
All of those hurdles have made qualifying even more special.
"It makes you realise that if you set your mind to something, go for it," she said.
"There's going to be times where the door shuts in your face but climb through a window. If the window's locked climb down through the chimney."
Biscuit 'looks after me'
It took Ms McLoughlin 18 months to find Biscuit. (ABC New England: Peter Sanders)
Ms McLoughlin, a seventh-generation horse woman, said finding Biscuit took more than a year.
"Obviously with seven per cent vision, the horse had to be something special," Ms McLoughlin said.
"I trust him more than I trust most humans.
"To be able to get on a horse and gallop and trust that he's going to do the right thing, I wish that everyone had that ability with their horse to have that relationship."
'Have a go'
Being legally blind and battling an array of health issues has never stopped Ms McLoughin believing in herself.
The 2023 ABC Regional Storyteller Scholarship recipient and 2019 South Australian Local Hero said she hoped she could show others struggling with illness or disability what was possible to achieve.
Ms McLoughlin guides her trusty horse Biscuit in the arena.
"My favourite quote is 'aerodynamically a bee shouldn't be able to fly but lucky for us no-one told the bee'," she said.
Source: ABC