The South Dakota Cowgirl

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Push (A Lesson in Friendship)

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Here’s another great post from another fun girl, a fellow barrel racer named Sarah:

Do you ever listen to the crowd or the announcer while competing? I have to admit, I do. Even while running my horse I’m still listening for support. I love hearing my friends yell “PUSH”. It makes me try harder. Yeah, that might make me a little co-dependent…although I prefer to think of it as multi-tasking. Whichever it is, supportive friends are great to have.

I am in the process of training my mare on barrels. I recently moved into a bunkhouse on my friend’s property. There’s room for my horse, there’s an arena, and BLM land nearby for riding. After years of having to drive to where my horse was boarded and then hook up the truck and trailer to haul somewhere to ride, I am in heaven. What makes it even more nice is having my friend 50 feet away to motivate me to ride on the days I’m not planning to. How does this relate to training my mare on barrels?

Here goes my conversation with my friend this morning:

Friend: Did you ride this morning?

Me: Nope. I rode the last few days, I’m giving her a couple days off.

Friend: What is she seven this year? (She’s actually eight) Are you on the ten year training plan?

Me: Um, yeah. Maybe I should ride tomorrow.

Friends are great. They care about us and can see our blind spots. Because they see things that we can’t (or don’t want) to see, they can push us forward into better versions of ourselves.

Without friends pushing us how would we get past fears? How many people would have tried cigarettes and alcohol? (Not necessarily the best push.) How would we know when we are being wimpy, or borderline lazy? Friends are there to push us into situations, and laugh because when they pushed we fell on our butt!

I’m writing this because I appreciate when my friends push me. I hope my friends don’t mind when I push them. While competing on horses, we push them to give their best performance (and horses make the best kind of friends). Pushing is a great way to show someone you care. So go on. Go push someone today.

I found this post to be quite relevant to my current situation and wish very much that I had more friends that were like Sarah’s! I am so glad that she shared!  If you’d like to read more from Sarah, you can find her at over at Rock-n-Rodeo Girl.


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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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Comments

  2. pony girl says

    I n education, we prefer to call it nudging, not pushing. I think sometimes we are afraid to be too opinionated with friends. I have friends that I know I can nudge. I have friends that I know will not take it well, they just tend to get defensive. So I have to figure out a creative way to do it with them, LOL! 🙂
    I admit, I initially resist to nudging, but I’ve always been that way, since I was a kid. I like it to be MY idea. But ultimately I do take it to heart, I will listen to other’s and incorporate that into my life.

    Reply

  3. Sarah says

    Yes, nudging is a gentler way of putting it!! I’m not always easily pushed (nudged) either, but I do always appreciate it at some point!

    Reply

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