Friday’s Job

November 6, 2009 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ 1 Comment

By the time most of y’all read this, I’ll have eaten a big breakfast, complete with bacon and eggs, have a pretty gray mare saddled, and be heading out into a mist-filled pasture to gather up the steer pairs that we’ll be shipping out today. I am, for those of you wondering, once again healthy enough to ride! The good news is, that we’re shipping out the steers. The better news is that next week, we get to do it again, when we ship out the heifers and the steers that don’t make this trip. And I’d venture a guess that since the heifers are consigned to the local sale barn, that y’all will all get to read a post about how much I love going to the sale barn.

Our cattle truck should be to the pasture at around 9am, and by that time we’ll need to have the pairs corralled and the sorting started. Tonight I cleared off the san-disk for the fancy camera, which means that hopefully there’ll be plenty of digital media to be shared; and if there’s enough help, there will be video too!

I love days like today, when it’s just you, a horse, friends and family. Mornings when the air is crisp and all is quiet. It makes for a really peaceful time. There’s not a whole lot on earth that’s better than long-trotting out across an endless pasture on a good horse. I know I say that all the time, because it’s true. There isn’t a better way to spend a day on God’s green earth than to be horseback.

Love-

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.