For miniature horse enthusiast Meg Lowe the best thing about living in her regional town is collecting her morning coffee on a horse-drawn cart.
The retired school teacher, who lives in Oberon in central west NSW, rides right up to her local cafe on the main street for her morning brew.
"They'll bring me out my takeaway coffee," she said.
"I sit in the main street and the cars go around me. Life's pretty good."
Ms Lowe and her horses Posie and Chip have become quite the sight in Oberon, which has a population of just 3,000 people.
"If I tried to do this with the horses in Penrith or Sydney I'd be inundated by horns blowing and trucks revving," she said.
Traffic training
It took nearly four years for Ms Lowe to train her miniature horses.
She worked with a local horse trainer to get the miniatures, which are just 1-metre tall, to a point where they were confident to ride on the road near traffic.
"Some people think miniature horses are just pets, but they're not," Ms Lowe said.
"They need their feet trimmed and teeth checked, and all the gear needs to be checked for safety."
To get ready, Ms Lowe attaches a sulky and sets off with her dogs.
"Oberon people, like all country people, know how to drive safely around animals on the side of the road," she said.
"Everyone here is absolutely wonderful. I can stop anywhere I like and they just go around me."
Local attraction
The town sits at an elevation of 1,100 metres and has become a popular visitor destination for Sydneysiders, particularly during winter when it snows.
Ms Lowe said she takes the horses out at least a couple of times a week for the 20-minute ride into town.
"It's not just locals who love it but all the city kids coming up who have never seen a horse and sulky in the main streets," she said.
"The kids come up and pat the horses and get photos with them, it's just a nice thing to do."
Local Charlotte Miller said she enjoyed watching on with her young daughter when the trio trotted past.
"It brings such a sense of joy and enthusiasm to see someone so involved in the community," Ms Miller said.
"It's really lovely seeing Meg and her horses out."
Living the dream
As well as her passion for miniature horses, Ms Lowe and her husband Peter open their home garden up to the public.
"We set Gairloch Garden up when we built here nearly 40 years ago," Ms Lowe said.
"We were both keen gardeners and it grew and grew to now take up two-thirds of an acre, and we open it up to visitors at times through the year."
While it could have been tempting to move town, Ms Lowe said the easy country life has kept the couple in Oberon.
"We love it here. There's no traffic to contend with. We are living the dream," she said.
