Nicola (34), a team gold medallist at the 2006 German Amateur Showjumping Championships, was one of three women on horseback undertaking an intimidating challenge set by local cowboys on Channel 4 television show Dangerous Jobs For Girls.

"At the beginning the cowboys called us city girls and told us we were not up to the task," said Nicola, of Clarkston Farm, Kirkfieldbank.

"We pretended that we'd never met horses before, despite the fact that we all come from a horsey background!

"We wanted to prove that women were capable of doing a job rated as one of the four most dangerous in the world.

"We spent five days in the wilderness sleeping in hammocks between the trees, and had to herd 350 animals on the route.

"We were told to take the buffalo into a large river, and the weight of the animals plunging in was so great that it created a whirlpool. We all nearly drowned!"

Submerged in water, Nicola and her colleagues lost personal belongings including keys, water bottles, ponchos and rehydration sachets. But it could have been so much worse.

For more information on this article, see this week's Carluke and Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.