Try

December 18, 2010 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

Reverb10 asks: What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for it?

Ideally, life is a culmination of things tried. You try, you fail. You try again. It’s like the colt that is just born in the pasture- his first instinct is to get up as soon as he can. His survival depends on it. So they try, and try again. As should we all if we’re to be successful.

Maybe not everyone feels like this, but I certainly do. I’m not saying that there isn’t some degree of frustration or the desire to throw in the towel, but that would get me nowhere. In many aspects of my life trying is a daily activity- certainly there is a degree of trying when riding colts. You ask and if the horse responds, you can let them be for a while. There’s a degree of trying when making jewelry- but more than that it’s doing. Just doing something that you want to do is a “try” in my opinion.

One thing that I wanted to try in 2010 was going to ride with Buck Brannaman. And we’ll all recall how well that went! Because I’m sure everyone is bored with hearing about it. It went well enough for me to ride with him a second time! It is life changing, to be sure.

In 2011, I will continue to hone my skills as a colt starter and horseman; I’ll be running our internship program by myself, and helping others learn to start colts. It could be considered a daunting task, however, you can often learn just as much by teaching as you do by doing.

Is there anything new you want to try in 2011?

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.