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If you'd asked Kathy Gabriel a couple of years ago if she was handy on the back of a horse, she would have said "no".
But after racing for thousands of kilometres through some of the world's toughest terrain, she now backs herself as a horsewoman.
And she can do it all while snapping stunning pictures of fellow riders from across the world.
Test of endurance
Ms Gabriel has twice raced in what's billed as the world's "longest and toughest" horserace — the 1,000km-long Mongol Derby.
She was forced to retire from the race through the Mongolian steppe in 2018 due to a shoulder injury, but in 2022 she came back strong to finish in 10th place.
That result earned her an invitation to photograph this year's Gaucho Derby in Argentina's Patagonia region.
Both derbies are run by United Kingdom-based equine adventure company The Equestrianists.
While Ms Gabriel regularly chases cattle on horseback across her Victorian High Country farm, she didn't consider herself a strong rider until recently.
"But now after doing the [Mongol] Derby twice, I'd like to say I'm pretty confident on a horse," she said.
"And that was the main reason I got this gig in Patagonia, as they needed a horse-mounted photographer to get into the remote areas to capture these riders."
Racing for days through places with names like the Plateau of Death, riders navigated the Gaucho Derby last month with maps, compasses, and GPS devices.
"It's an endurance sport," Ms Gabriel said.
"They have horse stations and vet checks — at each horse station you change horses and at vet checks they monitor the horses.
"Each horse on average did about 40km and the vet checks were stationed anywhere from 8 to 12km apart."
For someone with an eye for both the beauty of the landscape and the passion of the race, capturing it all on film was a dream come true.
"They were the most mind-blowing images; it was truly just stunning," Ms Gabriel said.
"I'd be monitoring with headquarters by satellite communication to try to track down riders in between horse station legs.
"I'd never know exactly where the riders would pop out and where I'd intersect.
"The excitement level is through the roof because it was so exciting capturing these people in these spots."
Preserving horseback cultures
The revered gauchos are the skilled horseback riders of South America, who often raise cattle and horses across the region.
The course takes derby contestants across high mountain passes, through working estancias (ranches) and over the ancient lands of the Indigenous Tehuelche, who were also skillful riders.
The gaucho horses — which are lent to the derby's participants — know the land better than anyone, according to derby operations lead Erik Cooper.
He said close relationships had also been developed with communities in Mongolia, where the Mongol Derby had run for almost 15 years.
"There are some pretty surreal moments to be had, like galloping alongside hundreds of wild horses as you search for the next horse station," he said.
"And living with a nomadic family who takes you — a stranger — in and looks after you like you're part of the family."
Riders in the Mongol Derby raise funds to support the nomadic traditions of local communities through Steppe and Hoof, a medical and veterinary care non-profit.
Founder Shatra Galbadrakh said Mongolian herders were one of the last pastoral nomadic communities in the world.
For 1,000 years, nomads had lived on the steppes and grazed their animals, with their culture virtually unchanged from generation to generation.
"But today, their traditional and ancient lifestyle is under threat," Ms Galbadrakh said.
"Climate change, desertification, and rapidly evolving economics in Mongolia are contributing not only to a dramatic reduction in herders and arable land, but also to the rapid migration of families away from their life in the countryside to the cities."
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