A 15-year-old girl denied a horse from her parents has turned to a cow to fulfil her riding dreams. Teenager Regina Mayer, from southern Germany, is able to ride her cow, Luna. She has even trained her bovine pet to soar over a beer-crate hurdle like a regular show jumper. Why, you may well ask, when most cow-owners are surely content to let the creatures chew and lactate and sit down to indicate the imminent arrival of rain? Well, Regina's parents wouldn't let her have a horse.

A Nepalese devotee bows in front of a cow during the 'Gai Puja', also known as the Cow Worship Day, as part of the Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, 11 November 2015. The Tihar festival is the second most important event for Nepalese Hindus. During the celebrations people worship cows, considered the incarnation of Lord Laxmi, the god of wealth. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

Racing in the XOD class during day six of the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week on August 11, 2011 in Cowes, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

A cow, which escaped from a truck, attacks a farmer trying to catch it in Liangdun village of Nangang township, Anhui province December 15, 2013. The 700 kilogram (1,543 lb) cow attacked several farmers before being shot dead by policemen, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Florence the baby zebra foal, runs in its enclosure at Edinburgh zoo September 4, 2008 in Edinburgh, Scotland. This arrival at the zoo is particularly important as the Grevy's zebra is listed as endangered, with only an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 remaining in the wild. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A toddler held by her father swims underwater during a swimming class for babies at Lane Cove pool February 16, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

“The Rothschild Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) is among the most endangered giraffe subspecies with only a few hundred members in the wild. It is named after the famous family of the Tring Museum's founder, Lord Walter Rothschild, and is also known as the Baringo Giraffe, after the Lake Baringo area of Kenya, or as the Ugandan Giraffe. All of those that are living in the wild are in protected areas in Kenya and Uganda. (Recently it has been proposed that the Rothschild Giraffe is actually a separate species from other giraffes and not a giraffe subspecies).” – Wikipedia

Photo: Margaret, the 10-day-old Giraffestands beside Chester Zoo keeper Tim Rowlands on January 30, 2008, in Chester, England. Margaret is the first Rothschild giraffe born at the zoo. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)