The South Dakota Cowgirl

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A Day in My Life

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Friday morning didn’t start out like any other day on the ranch. I say that tongue in cheek, as there really isn’t such a thing as a “typical” day.

At 6:30, when we awoke, I looked out the bedroom window to find a dozen saddle horses in our yard. That’s never a good sign, but it’s not usually a big deal either, save for that this morning, of all mornings, outside it was in the negative digits, temperature-wise. Add that to the fact that I had a non-negotiable trip to town planned for the morning- which involved taking calves to the sale barn, and well, I knew it was going to be one of “those” days.

I don’t fret over such things, though, as it’s just how life is sometimes. It’s better to just smile and get along than it is to be upset about things that happen.

As I got around and had a cup of coffee, I glanced out the living room window. What do you think I saw when I looked out that window?

If you guessed horses in the neighbor’s pasture, you’d be right.

I went outside and started the pickup.

I came back in, bundled up and got ready for the sale barn.

Then I climbed in the ranger, headed to survey the fence damage. Thursday, a cold front had come through, and the horses just got pushed through a not-so-hot, hot-wire fence.

Gumpy, and about 15 of his partners, were still in the pasture where they belonged, like good horses, and when I headed towards the hole in the fence, he took all his compadres towards the corrals, because he was certain I would feed him or something!

Then I set about rounding up the others.

Here’s some video.

They were in four different locations and it took a little bit of work. It was also discovered Saturday that I’d missed several head in the neighbor’s pasture. So that’s on my list for this week- at least it’s going to be in the upper 40s, as opposed to barely double digits!

Once I got all the horses situated, I went to the corral to sort off a stud horse named Nukie, a bull that isn’t ours, and to whom we don’t know who he belongs, and a wayward mama cow who came home a few weeks ago when we weaned her from her calf. We’ve been too busy to put her back to pasture, so she’s just been in the corral. That little job took a few minutes, and left me with 16 calves in the corral.

Then I got in my now, warm pickup, backed up to the loading chute, and in about 30 minutes had all my calves loaded. Sometimes the babies don’t know how to look for a “place to go”, so it takes longer to load them than it would if there had been cows or bulls that needed to go to town, plus I’m not nearly as handy as a rancher who’s been doing this since they were knee-high to a grasshopper!

Once that was finished, I realized my trailer tires were low. And as the queen of blow-outs, I had to rectify that situation prior to leaving. My fingers got cold.

And then I was off.

The calves got unloaded at the sale barn.
I ran errands and bought wine.
I headed home.

I got home, left the groceries in the pickup.
I started the tractor and watered some horses.
I fed hay to our escaped saddle horses, because the fence wasn’t fixed in their pasture.

I drove home, unloaded the pickup, cleaned the kitchen, and made hot-wings for dinner.

And then I had wine.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my life.

Happy Trails!

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.

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