A Pretty Mecate

November 20, 2015 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

I seriously don’t know how I missed posting this here.

These. These custom, gorgeous, handmade mecate reins. Sigh. The hackamore was a gift from the Cowboy to me, last year for my birthday. Talk about an awesome birthday gift! It’s kangaroo hide, and it is so soft and shapeable. Doesn’t Dino look gorgeous in them?

The South Dakota Cowgirl, south dakota cowgirl photography, the dx ranch, hackamore horse, quarter horse, mecate reins, mecates, handmade, colorful cowgirl reins — A Colorful Mecate

My only excuse is that Cavvy Savvy keeps me pretty busy, and lately, I’ve been too busy to even post over there! How does that happen? How am I too busy to even write when I get paid? But better yet, how did I miss sharing these beauties with you this fall when I got them? I’ve already ordered two more — one for when I have a horse ready for a pencil hackamore, and one to be a get down rope when I’ve got a horse straight up in the bridle, which will happen, eventually. The Colorful Cowgirl outdid herself. Seriously… I’ve ridden with two other braided horsehair Mecates and these are by far the best. They don’t have a core, which makes them super soft and the feel… oh the way they feel. Not just to me, but to the horse too! I have no idea what colors I’ll have her make me for the next two and luckily I have time to think about that… I’m half tempted to stay with the same color scheme, because well, red and turquoise are gorgeous together.

Do any of you, my lovely readers, have reins made by Gloria? If you don’t, you’re missing out!

Happy Trails!

PS – This photo will be in my 2016 calendar too, in case you’re wondering…

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.