Happy Trails!
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.
Where were the farmers and ranchers?
By Mark Peacock
You’ve heard it before around the community, in conversations at cafes, while whispering
on street corners, mentioned in passing…when they thought no one else would be listening.
“So the ranchers and farmers are having it tough.” “They’ve had it so good for so long.”
“Where were they when I fell on tough times?” “About time for them something went wrong.”
Where were they, these ranchers and farmers? Where were they when you needed them?
They were praying in church for your family, when the news of the illness came in.
They were there at the ball games and concerts, raising the spirits of your little town.
They lent you their time and their effort, getting community events off the ground.
They were members of fire departments, stopping fires that they didn’t start.
They raised money for neighbors with cancer, and donated that beef from their heart.
When the town got hit by that tornado, better help than them couldn’t be found.
They flip pancakes at community breakfasts, and help neighbors with projects all around.
Just where were these farmers and ranchers? They were neighbors and friends through and through.
We should take up the slack and finally give back what they’ve done all along for me and you.