In the car ride home from her first barrel race, solicitor Zoe-Anne Walker realised the girl who once swore she'd never get on a horse was already planning her next run.
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Defined by her headfirst, dust-yourself-off determination, this first-generation cowgirl found the rodeo scene by accident, but fell hard for it.
"Learning to ride has changed more than what I do, it has changed how I think," she said.
"I've learnt patience I didn't have, humility I probably needed, and how to turn frustration into focus rather than self doubt - not only with my horse, but in everyday life."
Ms Walker, from Dubbo in NSW, didn't know the rodeo scene existed until her fiance Maverick Potter introduced her.
They'd gone to school together but never spoken, and she met him by chance in a Moruya pub while on holiday with her then-partner.
A breakup, swipe on Tinder and cheeky opening line about the not-so-great holiday led to their first date.
"After the date I went out to his brother's house and watched them rope," Ms Walker said.
"I'd never been around it before, so it was really new to me."
Sparks flew, they moved in together and soon Ms Walker found herself in the saddle of Mr Potter's paint horse learning the reins.
"I'm always up for trying something new and I'm almost married into a rodeo family where if I didn't get involved it probably wouldn't have worked out," she said.
"Maverick and my sister-in-law Michelle Potter have helped me so much with my riding. I've got the best mentors."
Ms Walker races with her horse, Ted, a seasoned rodeo veteran - she jokes she's trying to catch up to his ability.
"When I come out to barrel race, I'm still not perfect, but I'm giving it a go," she said.
"I've started to learn how to rope and I'm hoping to enter in something towards the end of the year."
While it's a long, frustrating, yet exciting process, the 24-year-old hopes to one day specialise in roping.
Outside the arena, she's a solicitor in a not-for-profit community legal centre and has founded her own business Wynonna's Photography.
Noticing Ms Walker's eye photography on her iPhone, Mr Potter surprised her with a camera in April 2025.
"As soon as I got my camera, I was taking photos of Maverick and his brother riding their horses," she said.
"Any rodeo that Maverick would go to, which was most weekends, I would grab my camera and take photos for fun."
While Ms Walker didn't think anything would come of it, almost one year on she's been contracted at a number of events on the circuit.
Her work has been featured internationally on Cowgirl Magazine's social media and has graced the pages of Graziher Magazine.
Ms Walker also sponsors steer undercorator and barrel racer Jess Kovac on her horse 327.
"There is a story everywhere you look with rodeo and everybody is a family," she said.
"I love getting a good action shot of any event, whether it's bull riding, barrel racing, breakaway roping."
Through her work, Ms Walker hopes to showcase the culture of Australian rodeo, tell her story and encourage others to give something new a crack.
Her motto - 'you only live once'.
"I didn't think I'd get to a point of stability with my mental health and happiness, but it does happen and sometimes you just have to take that jump," she said.
"You can do whatever you set your mind to."
Elka Devney
Elka Devney was The Land's Dubbo-based journalist from early 2023 until mid-March 2026. During that time, she covered a wide range of topics, from cropping and cattle, with a particular interest in renewable energy.
