• 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 / horses / From the Branding Pen

From the Branding Pen

June 25, 2016 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ 3 Comments

We just finished our annual Father’s Day Branding.  We got to it a day late because it rained on Saturday, but Sunday proved to be a gorgeous day! A nice breeze, lots of sunshine and good people, made the day even better!

The sorting crew at this year's branding.

Conversations about life are best had horseback.

My family came up from Texas and we got to have a nice visit. Plus they were around when we turned the studs out — which is probably one of the coolest things a person can witness — quiet saddle horses, become wild stallions. They haze their mares into a herd and take charge. Plus it’s just cool to see a horse be a horse. I’ll post some images later.

It's all about the details when you're riding a custom, handmade saddle.

Sometimes we have to look back.

Getting the sort in the branding pen.

Tails in the breeze keep flies away.

Summer is officially in full swing now, and I’m truthfully tired. It’s time for a day off. Or a day to clean house. Whichever comes first. This weekend we lost two more interns, which means we’re down to two interns for the rest of the summer. I’m already missing the girls that have left.

I wonder who's telling  a taller tale?!

I’ve made a couple barrel races finally. I’ll post about those soon, I promise.

Make a hole, boys.  Make a hole.

Bay roan horses are pretty dang gorgeous.

How is your summer going? Are you getting a lot done with your horses?

Tied and waiting in the branding pen.

Happy Trails!

Spread the Love!

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Print
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: #Agchat, cowgirls, family, Horsemanship, horses, News From The Cowgirl, ranching, summer Tagged With: a day in the life, Horsemanship, horses, ranching, Western Lifestyle

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.

Give your horse or dog, or cat the gift of mobility.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Butch Bovan says

    June 25, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    Thanks for sharing your photos – always have loved black & white the most. The very last one was the best. Happy Trails!

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Raquel says

    June 28, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Great photos! Can I have that roan horse (or at least I think it’s a roan) with the pony like thick mane and forelock? He is a nice looking horse.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ says

      June 28, 2016 at 7:13 pm

      I don’t think Tom is gonna let you have Waspy but I bet you could come ride him. 🙂 He’s pretty flipping cool.

      Loading...
      Reply

What's on your mind?Cancel reply

Footer

Subscribe to Blog via Email

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

Join 16K 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...
 

    %d