Janette Wilson refuses to sleep the evening of April 24, just in case her pre-dawn alarm doesn't work and she misses the local Anzac Day commemorations.
The Top End horse trainer is fully committed to the "huge honour" of leading Darwin's Anzac march each year, when she walks at the front of the pack, a bugle slung over her shoulder and a dressed-up Waler horse by her side, through the city centre.
As they walk, her horse, Willing Noble Reveille, proudly wears a number of war relics donated by the families of Australian servicemen and women, some of which are more than 110 years old.
It's a tradition Janette and her Waler horses have been part of every Anzac march in Darwin since 2004.
"It takes me about an hour to get ready, each time I unsaddle and saddle back up again," Janette says.
"It's a huge honour to be escorting past and present diggers, especially as a civilian, it's pretty amazing." The Waler breed was used by Australia's light horsemen in World War I, with the horses selected for their hardy nature and ability to travel great distances in warm conditions with little water.
Walers were originally named for New South Wales, the state they were primarily once sold from.
But the horses living on Janette's rural NT property are more accustomed to life up north.
Wear and tear has taken a toll on the original pieces Janette uses to decorate Reveille.
But what has stood the test of time are the stories and people connected to each artefact.
Reveille....
