1. Name: Sandy Bauer

2. Age and Grade? 17 ~ Graduated

3. Where do you live?

At the age of six I moved to the middle of nowhere. A beef producing cattle station called Brunchilly, to be exact. Precisely 1 ½ hours north of Tennant Creek and 6 hours south of Katherine. With this chapter coming to a close, I am moving to yet another station within the Northern Territory, but one that is a little more isolated.

4. Tell us about yourself

I am a sister, a daughter, a friend, a positive advocate and Rural Photographer. At the age of 13 I discovered my passion for photography. I began to show everyone what rural life was all about and the work that is really involved, one photograph at a time. I am a strong believer in being positive no matter what and believing what you ‘already’ have is the best you can possibly get. I have a number of achievements behind me including having completed my Certificate II in Creative Media through Charles Darwin University & being a regularly published writer and photographer in ‘The Horse Downunder Magazine.’

5. Who is your role model?

I have numerous role models and way too many to list, these people range from well-known photographers who I look to for inspiration when it comes to finding a style & rural workers who stick it out, regardless of the challenges that they face. My number one role model though would have to be my older sister, despite her rough start into the cattle industry she went to Longreach Pastoral College to rediscover her passion for everything rural – especially horses. She’s my role model because everything she sets out to do, she achieves.

6. What’s your favourite thing about living in rural Australia?

 Living in rural Australia makes you appreciate the small things in life. The seven hour trip to the nearest shopping centre, the five and a half hour drive just to go to a 21st party, the efforts that friends go to just to visit, the animals that surround you and the connection you make with them. Everything makes me appreciate where I live. The thing I personally enjoy the most is the ‘isolation.’ I know it sounds a bit crazy to some. Being isolated has its ups and downs, such as not having as much of a social life, but the open spaces are worth every bit of it. The open spaces help me to work out what I really want, to set goals and focus on achieving them and they help me to create a vision that I want everyone else to see.

7. What do you do to relax/have fun?

I’m a total ‘saddle horse club’ kind of girl, if anyone told me to go ride a horse I would never ever complain.

8. What’s your favourite TV Show?

Back Roads by far. “Heather Ewart swaps reporting from political corridors of power to a new beat around the bush. Along the way she visits remote towns and regions to discover some of this country’s most remarkable and inspiring communities.”

9. What’s your favourite quote?

I have two “And so she decided to start living the life she’d visioned.” And “It’s never about the role, always about the goal”

10. What’s your main goal/ambition right now?

My main goal right now is to achieve my qualification in Equine Myofascial Release. This will allow me to help station horses and my own when they have pain and complications within their muscles. Not only will I be able to shorten the recovery time it would normally take but I will also be able to improve the performance of the horses I work on.