ACCOUNTANT Pauline Pickering could ride a horse before she could walk.

Hailing from a long local line of horsey folk, (the Mullins and Dunns) horses were a part of life growing up.

"From an early age, we were campdrafting, tent-pegging, we played polocrosse and were regulars at pony club,” Mrs Pickering said.

Mrs Pickering said her early days were highlighted as part of the family vaulting troupe.

"It was acrobatics on horseback,” she said.

"This is something I did from a very young age, and we performed for the crowds during the night program at the Ekka in Brisbane every year.

"It was our bit of family fun.”

From around the age of 10, Mrs Pickering started in show-jumping and as she progressed through her teens, this became a great love and focus.

"The highlight came in 1989 when I won the under 21 Australian Show-jumping Championship,” she said.

"This led to me representing Australia in a competition against New Zealand in 1990.

"The kiwis came here first and we competed in Adelaide, where we won a few rounds and they won a few as well.

"Then we had to fly over there, horses and all.”

Mrs Pickering said that was a novel idea at the time.

"We went in this huge horse transport plane, with our horses in large crates, it was such an experience,” she said.

"It rained the whole time we were over there, and our horses weren't used to the muddy conditions at all, so we were well and truly beaten.”

In the late 1990s Mrs Pickering became pregnant with eldest son Jack and gave up the sport she loved.

"It was time to focus on family and my career,” she said.

"Steven and I bought the Globe Hotel in Palmerin St, with the view of going into business and after years of working for someone else it happened in 2004.

"With my brother-in-law Peter Driver in partnership and my mum as a receptionist, we crossed our fingers and opened the doors. We had no clients at all at the time, but that changed quickly - it soon became apparent we'd need more staff.”

Now with 18 staff, Mrs Pickering attributes the success of Globe Accounting to a love of the job.

"If you enjoy what you do and are genuinely interested in people, then it shows and you'll find success,” she said.