With Horse of the Year about to kick off, Kiwi equestrian, adventurer and explorer Chloe Phillips-Harris will be in town, and you can meet her at Wardini Books in Havelock North on Wednesday.

I’ve just finished reading her book, Fearless, and she is most certainly that!

This young woman has fought her way through poverty and isolation with a I’m just going to do it attitude that took her to the Mongolian Derby – her experiences whilst there are death defying and hair-raising.

Fearless recounts the real-life adventures of a young woman pushing the limits, trusting her instincts and living her life off the beaten path

Suffering through searing pain and delirious illness in frigid, makeshift conditions, Chloe, at the age of 25 years, summoned every ounce of determination to brave the Mongol Derby, the world's most gruelling horse race. This 1000-kilometre endurance race across the wild steppes, desert and mountains of Mongolia – a competition with no marked course, no support team, that requires riders to switch horses every 40km – saw almost half the competitors drop out along the way, but Chloe persevered.

Fearless also recounts Chloe's childhood growing up on a run-down farm in a remote corner of New Zealand, with the odds stacked against her, and shares her life-long dedication to animals that has led her to train wild stallions and help save neglected working animals, travelling to some of the most remote and diverse places on the planet – all of which prepared her to overcome unimaginable challenges during a ride like no other.

Her adventures are as thrilling as any Lee Child novel – we have danger, good guys and bad guys and a whole lot of bravery and determination.

I’m excited to meet Chloe when she visits Wardini Books Havelock North on Wednesday at 6pm.

All are welcome to meet her too – it would be of particular interest to young people who will gain inspiration from her wisdom and breadth of experience.

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