Connie spent her life devoted to sharing her love of horses and riding with generations of girls. While she earned her law degree early on and had aspirations of following in her father's footsteps as a judge, she never practiced and chose a cowgirl's life dedicated to her cowboy husband, their ranch, and those she taught to ride. She was honored in her lifetime with The Free Spirit Award, the Chester A Reynolds Memorial Award, and she was inducted into the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. Connie rode horses every day of her life, up until being thrown from her beloved Dr. Pepper, which took her away from what she loved at 101 years of age. She was the epitome of a Woman Rancher, and loved by generations.

A historical monograph honoring extraordinary women who forged resilient lives on the land – overseeing acreage, tending farms, stewarding livestock, and pursuing sustainable agriculture – while balancing motherhood and independent struggles. Their journeys reveal enduring self-reliance, perseverance, and ingenuity. The narrative blends historical context, voices from the women themselves, expert scholarship, and excerpts from letters and diaries to illuminate their humanity.