Daredevil act: Fairland Ferguson'€™s acts inspire the creation of Princess Merida in the animated film Brave. Courtesy of Cavalia

Titian-haired stunt rider Fairland Ferguson takes the spotlight when she cheerfully leads a team of six horses in the Roman riding scene of Cavalia.

Her daredevil acts leave the audience gasping as the horses gallop at full speed and jump over the waist-high obstacles.

'€œI start on two, and when everybody thinks the act is over, we add two horses and then two more. So I'€™m steering the four in front while standing on my two for two laps and then we exit,'€ she says.

It may sound difficult, but Ferguson said she did not require any special technique to do it and it was just a matter of multitasking and practice.

'€œIt'€™s a lot of multitasking as I watch the front team, the middle team, and I also watch each horse individually, commanding them to slow down, to speed up, to turn, and so on,'€ Ferguson said, adding that it took about six months of training for the horses to perform the act.

In the stage, Ferguson looks shining and strong with her smile and cheerful shouts while doing tricks on her horses. Her stage personality inspired the creation of Princess Merida in the animated film Brave after the crew of Pixar watched the show in San Jose a few years ago.

Fairland Ferguson. Courtesy of Cavalia

Born in South Carolina, 30-year-old Ferguson was raised on a farm and has ridden horses since she was very young.

However, she never dreamed of being a stunt rider and studied marine biology at university to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a trainer at Sea World.

But in 2003, she had to struggle for her life after she fell 21 meters down a cliff she had climbed to jump into the water below.

'€œI hesitated a little bit and lost the footing beneath me. Instead of completing the jump, I ended up just falling down the cliff,'€ she said.

She broke 46 bones, including 23 in her face, eight ribs, both arms and both legs. She underwent 13 surgical operations and now has a totally different nose.

'€œI was told I wouldn'€™t be able to walk, and I was also told about losing the vision in my left eye.'€

After months of rehabilitation, she fully recovered and a year after the incident she started to ride again, working as a rider at a horse-riding show where she carried flags and rode.

She auditioned for Cavalia and joined the troupe at the end of 2009 as a stunt rider.

As riders do not share horses in Cavalia, Ferguson gets to keep three horses and one of them is a 14-year-old American Paint horse, called Henry.

'€œHenry and I have been together for four years and he'€™s one of the fastest horses here. He has red hair, blue eyes, just like me,'€ she says.

Even after five years performing with Cavalia, Ferguson never finds her routine of having to repeatedly do the same things every night boring. Her deep relationship with the horses helps her get through her worst days.

'€œYou'€™re performing in front of some 2,000 people. And when I'€™m on stage, with the horses, whatever'€™s happened in the day in my personal life, it dissolves on the stage.'€

'€” JP/Novia D. Rulistia