It is a parent's worst nightmare.
When 32-year-old Ashley Sutton heard her three-year-old son Paddy say, "Ouch", she was not initially concerned.
"He acted like he had a prickle and it's only when he's gone to sit down that I've noticed there's a snake underneath him and he's actually sat on the snake," she said.
"I ran over and stood on the snake to pull it off him and I must have broken the tail off."
The section of tail left behind suggested Paddy may have been bitten by a very small — but still potentially deadly — eastern brown snake.
The terrifying scenario was made even more frightening by the fact Ashley lives deep in the Northern Territory outback on Brunette Downs Station with her partner and head stockman Billy Dakin.
The vast and remote cattle property on the Barkly Tableland is a six-hour drive from the nearest major service centre, so Paddy was immediately flown to the closest town of Tennant Creek on the station's plane.
After a nerve-wracking night, medical staff found no sign of venom in Paddy's system, and the pressure bandages were removed to reveal a bite on each foot.
"I don't know how we got so lucky," Ashley says, shaking her head in disbelief.
It is an experience they never want to repeat, but Ashley and Billy say they still love living on a station.
"It's such a good life," Ashley says.
Outback the best playground
The couple have the only children on Brunette Downs Station — Paddy and one-year-old Abbie.
Ashley is studying a business degree online but during university holidays the family joins Billy and his team and camp in the bush for up to two weeks while mustering thousands of cattle.
"Paddy gets to go to work with Dad a fair bit, and gets to be on horses, around animals," Ashley says of station life.
"He's done his first few musters and he just loves it.
"There's no time limit; he just gets to play all day out there.
"It's freedom."
Motherhood trials and triumphs
But Ashley says station life comes with challenges.
"It's a new learning curve for me, not having the support of other mums, but I have a go [and] Google helps," she says.
They do have access to other services.
Brunette Downs has its own small clinic, the Royal Flying Doctor Service gives the children vaccinations and check-ups, and Ashley consults with a maternal and child health clinic online.
A mobile playgroup service known as KICS (Katherine Isolated Children's Service) attends outback events, stations and communities, and gives isolated kids a chance to get together.
"Paddy loves to see other kids; he just gets so excited," Ashley said.
But while the family is about to make a temporary move to another outback property closer to a town so that Paddy and Abbie can play with other children more easily, they are ultimately in the bush for the long haul.
"Yeah, we'll stay on stations," Ashley says.
"It's too much fun and it's a good group of people.
"I didn't know I would enjoy it because it is so isolated, but it's a lot of fun and it's more like family when you're so remote, not just a work environment."
Races bringing stations together
While Brunette Downs Station may seem like it is in the middle of nowhere, it has been bringing people together from across the outback for more than a century to celebrate station life at the Brunette Races.
Neighbouring stations and a team of volunteers are also involved in running the four-day event that includes races, a campdraft and rodeo.
One of its local legends is Gail Lowe, who has been involved in every facet of the event since the 1970s when she and her husband lived and worked on Brunchilly Station, which is also on the Barkly Tablelands.
Like Billy and Ashley, Gail grew up on the land where her family showed and rode horses.
"I was one of 11 kids, and we just grew up on horses all our lives," she says.
She and her husband trained horses on Brunchilly, which raced in carnivals across the country.
"In those days, there were bush races at every roadhouse," Gail says.
A Brunette Races female trailblazer
In 1974, when Gail was asked to step in and ride at the Brunette Races, she became the first woman jockey at the event — and probably the NT.
For Gail, however, it did not seem like a big deal.
"I was doing track work at the time and it was just a natural progression that I would ride," she says.
Gail believed it to be an important time of change in the industry, and a moment when women were finally breaking ground in horseracing across the country.
"In 1976, Mount Isa held a full program of racing with only women riding and that was a significant event, which really got the ball rolling for female jockeys across Australia," Gail says.
"It probably did give other people an opportunity to do it if they wanted to, and there's more girls now than ever before."
Gail now lives in Tennant Creek after moving there so her son, Boyd, could get a good education.
Boyd has followed in the family footsteps.
In 2022, the pair chalked up 35 and 50 years respectively at the Brunette Races, with the breeder and trainer team winning a record-breaking 12th consecutive Brunette Gold Cup.
"That one feels like an achievement for the family," Gail says.
Amazingly, Gail only gave up riding five years ago at the age of 70, a longevity nothing short of inspirational for up-and-coming young women.
Women like Ashley and Gail living on outback stations exercise a unique skill set that's gutsy, resourceful and creative.
See more about their stories on the latest episode of Back Roads.
Watch on ABC TV at 8pm or any time after that on ABC iview.
