A chance meeting leads Rebecca Worrell to take part in a horseback endurance race in the Torres Del Paine national Park.

Horse-lovers, picture this and drool in envy; spread before me is a sweeping valley, thick with golden grass, pockets of beech trees in pillarbox red and cinnamon orange, a crisp sky and a backdrop of snow-frosted mountains.

Oh, and did I mention the unbelievably turquoise lake and glimpses of the infamous granite columns of the Torres del Paine national park, an hour's drive away?