The cowgirl on the range in wild Dorset

She can't whirl a lasso, she's never drawn a Smith & Wesson and she certainly doesn't wear spurs.

But, yee-haa, she sure can ride a horse, and that's all you need to be a cowgirl - or, at least, the modern version of one.

Lisa Hawthornthwaite, 30, yesterday became the first 'cowhand' in Britain for more than 200 years when she saddled up for a new conservation role.

In doing so, she beat off applicants for the National Trust job from as far away as the ranches of South America.

With a five-year-old Highland pony named Ossie for company, her job is to drive a herd of grazing cattle around a heathland nature reserve in Dorset to stop it becoming overgrown.

The grazing will preserve the diversity of plant life and wildlife at the site - aptly named Studland Heath - which boasts some of Britain's rarest natural habitats. But it won't be a walk in the park. She has 750 hectares (1,850 acres) to cover, regardless of the weather or time of year.

'It's a bit daunting, but hopefully we'll get this place looking like it was 200 years ago,' said Lisa. 'And with Ossie for company, it'll be great. He's cheeky, and stubborn but very loveable.'

Trust bosses created the role because an increasing number of visitors meant the cows could not roam freely as they did up until the early 20th century.

Rather than put up fences to control them, the trust decided to revive the cowherding tradition.

Lisa will bring 40 cows on to the heath in the morning, tend them by day and return them to their farm in the evening.