• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The South Dakota Cowgirl

Life on the Ranch Through My Lens

  • Home
  • About
    • The Cowgirl
      • The Family
      • Music
    • The Ranch
      • Terms to Know
      • Horsemanship and Horse Training
    • FAQ
  • Blog
  • My Favorite Things
  • Photography
  • Services
    • Press
  • Order Prints
  • Recipes
  • Workshops/Events
    • Women’s Retreats and Workshops
    • Women’s Photography Workshop Itinerary
  • Contact
  • Photography 101 Videos
You are here: Home / Archives for ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

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.

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2023 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

2023 Christmas

Merry Christmas, friends! May the Holidays bless you with good times, loads of love, and gratitude for life and all that it has to offer you. Even in ...

Read More

A Momma, A Daddy, and a Baby

December 18, 2023 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

We got these maternity photos for my stepdaughter done, just in the nick of time! The baby came a few days after we did these. And because I'm ...

Read More

Seasonal Transitions

March 3, 2023 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ 1 Comment

winter in south dakota, the south dakota cowgirl, winter wonderland. horses in the snow, snow photos, horse snow photos, the south dakota cowigirl, south dakota cowgirl phototgraphy

Howdy y'all, it's your favorite South Dakota Cowgirl, Jenn Zeller here, and I'm here to talk about one of my favorite seasons: Winter. Now, I know ...

Read More

Friday Motivation

February 17, 2023 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

...

Read More

Women of the West

February 1, 2023 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

women of the west, western horseman, its cool to be cowboy, jenn zeller women of the west, jenn zeller cowgirl, jenn zeller horse trainer

I'm almost 3 years late, but I'm still here! To share with you with ONE of the coolest thing that's happened to me in my life! There's more coming, ...

Read More

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2022 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

merry christmas 2022, horses in the snow, snow, south dakota, the south dakota cowgirl, images by the south dakota cowgirl

May your Christmas be filled with love, joy, laughter, while you're surrounded by those you love. Don't forget that He is the reason for the CHRISTmas ...

Read More

Branding Photos – 2022

November 21, 2022 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

south dakota cowgirl photography, the south dakota cowgirl, ranch life, ranching, south dakota, cowboys

Better late than never to share some branding photos, right? And in case anyone has been wondering -- yes I'm alive. I've ignored this ...

Read More

5 Mental Health Benefits of Horseback Riding

April 14, 2022 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

5 Mental Health Benefits of Horseback Riding, south dakota cowgirl photography

By Stephen Bitsoli Sunshine Behavioral Health Editor|Author|Content Writer  Humans have been bonding with horses for centuries. ...

Read More

My Alluring Lane Boots

February 24, 2022 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

lane boots, the south dakota cowgirl, perfect black boot, cowboy boots, cowgirl fashion

It's been a hot minute since I've hung out in this little corner of my world, and I have so much to catch all of you up on! To kick off the new year, ...

Read More

Fall Work

October 26, 2021 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

fall work, the south dakota cowgirl, black and white, western images

Fall work is my favorite time of year! The calves are big. The air is crisp. The sun will warm your back. The grass turns to gold -- to ready ...

Read More

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 118
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 12.1K other subscribers

Social

  • View thesouthdakotacowgirl’s profile on Facebook
  • View @thesdcowgirl’s profile on Twitter
  • View @thesdcowgirl’s profile on Instagram
  • View @thesdcowgirl’s profile on Pinterest
Give your horse or dog, or cat the gift of mobility.

Pretty Photographs

fall work, the south dakota cowgirl, black and white, western images
the south dakota cowgirl, south dakota photography, cowboy
wild west rag co, south dakota cowgirl photography, portrait photography, cowgirls
Introspection
sleep habits of horses, how horses sleep
south dakota cowgirl photography, winter preset, winter shadows
Kansas Cowboy
Kansas Cowboy
DP8A5805-Edit
DP8A9470-Edit

© 2025 · The South Dakota Cowgirl · Powered by Imagely

 

Loading Comments...